19:11, 17 February 2016

HRC "Memorial" treats Karpyuk and Klykh as political prisoners

Human rights activists have demanded to free citizens of Ukraine Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh. Investigators have no proofs that during the first Chechen war Karpyuk and Klyh were in Chechnya, rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 27, the Supreme Court of Chechnya started consideration of the criminal case against Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, citizens of Ukraine, accused of involvement in the combat actions in the territory of Chechnya.

According to investigators, Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh were members of the UNA-UNSO, founded in the early 1990s and recognized in Russia as an extremist organization. The defendants are accused of leadership and involvement in a criminal grouping, murder, and attempt on two or more people during the first Chechen war. Nikolai Karpyuk has denied his involvement in the conflict in Chechnya and claimed being tortured in the course of the investigation.

As stated in the today's message of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", the prosecution of Karpyuk and Klykh "began and continues under the endless from spring 2014 anti-Ukrainian campaign".

"One of the elements of this campaign is fabrication of criminal cases against people, who publicly express their attitude to events in Ukraine, different from the official one, and directly against citizens of Ukraine," states the press release of the HRC "Memorial", received today by the "Caucasian Knot".

The statement of the HRC "Memorial" asserts, on the basis of the analysis of the indictment in the case of Karpyuk and Klykh, made by experts, "that with a high degree of confidence Karpyuk and Klykh are innocent."

"Investigators have no proofs that they had ever been in Chechnya. The HRC 'Memorial' believes that Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh are political prisoners and demands their immediate and unconditional release," says the message of the HRC "Memorial".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.