Advocates doubt chances of amnesty for opponents of quarantine in North Ossetia

Advocates interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” see practically no chances for an amnesty for arrested and convicted participants of a protest action against the self-isolation regime in Vladikavkaz in April 2020.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 26 and 28, in Rostov-on-Don, a court pronounced verdicts to participants of the protest action against the self-isolation regime, which took place in Vladikavkaz in April 2020. Ten persons were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 4 years and 9 months to 6 years and 6 months in a penal colony. Public activists of North Ossetia called the verdict too harsh, and Instagram users considered it “a warning beating.” On September 14, it became known that relatives of the protestors appealed to President Putin with a request to pardon the convicts and arrestees kept in a SIZO (pre-trial prison).

Advocate Vadim Balaev, who works for the Bar Association of Saint Petersburg and Berlin, has expressed his doubt that the participants of the protest action in Vladikavkaz will be included in the amnesty. In his comment to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent, the advocate has explained that only those already convicted can be pardoned: that is, to be pardoned, the defendants should wait for a court’s decision.

The advocate suggests that only a wide public outcry can help the activists. “I think that our fellow countrymen have almost zero chances of being included in the amnesty. Especially taking into account that in 2020, the Russian Constitution and its guarantor were re-set to zero and in view of the massive repressions that are only enhancing,” Vadim Balaev stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 15, 2021 at 10:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.