Human rights activists criticize S. Dmitrievskiy's verdict

Today, the court has brought its verdict to Stanislav Dmitrievskiy: 2 years of suspended sentence, 4 years on probation, prohibition to change residence. The criminal case was initiated last January under article 282, para 2 of RF CC, "actions aimed at stirring hate or hostility... on the basis of race, nationality... membership in a social group."

S. Dmitrievskiy was accused of publishing in "Pravozaschita" (Human Rights Protection) newspaper he edited the "Address of Akhmed Zakaev, vice-Premier of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, to the Russian people" in March 2004 and the "Address of Maskhadov, President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, to the European Parliament" in the same newspaper in April-May 2004, which contained calls for peaceful settlement of the Russian-Chechen conflict.

The "Caucasian Knot" editorial board received a statement of the Moscow Bureau on Human Rights. The letter states that observers believe the proceedings to be politically motivated and the criminal prosecution of Dmitrievskiy an infringement on the freedom of press in Russia. They expressed their solidarity with the defendant. In their view, the acts of the prosecution agencies are anti-constitutional and run counter to the conventions on human rights and other international norms which protect the freedom of press.

The letter notes that, first, they adopt a law establishing a stringent control over NGOs, then an ideological basis is built around the law in the form of an espionage scandal, and finally, the first human rights activist is sentenced, be it a suspended sentence.

The Moscow Bureau on Human Rights and the Russian section of the International Society on Human Rights note the unjustness and the biasness of the verdict. The statement highlights that, instead of real offenders, a human rights activist was placed at the dock for stirring international strife and sentenced.