Lawyers comment on recognition of activist Ruslan Nurushev as political prisoner

The “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” human rights project recognized Ruslan Nurushev, a lawyer from Volgograd, as a political prisoner. This status is important from a political and moral point of view.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Ruslan Nurushev was detained on the charge of spreading fakes about the Russian Army. The reason for the prosecution was the Ruslan Nurushev’s post on a social network about a missile strike on Kharkov.

“In the Ruslan Nurushev’s case, it is unclear what exactly the law enforcement bodies treated as false information posted by the lawyer. The fact of the attack on Kharkov was acknowledged by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD). The assessment of the attack is only personal opinion of Ruslan Nurushev. Our Constitution enshrines the right of citizens to freedom of expression of their opinions,” emphasized Sergey Davidis, a member of the board of the “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” human rights project.

When speaking about whether the status of a political prisoner can influence legal proceedings at the international level, the human rights defender explains that Russia “has withdrawn from cooperation” with international judicial bodies, in particular, with the International Court of Human Rights. The status of a political prisoner can be taken into account by international organizations associated with the protection of human rights, “if they examine this case.” “This status (of a political prisoner) does not entail legal consequences in the current conditions. There are no institutions for this (where it could be considered),” Sergey Davidis noted.

International law expert Roman Melnichenko explains that in a legal sense, from the standpoint of both national and international law, the status of “a political prisoner” “means nothing.”

“The status of a political prisoner is not purely legal. It is a politically important status. For example, it can be taken into account when exchanging prisoners between Russia and Europe ... In addition, in the eyes of human rights defenders and future generations of the future rule of law, the status of a political prisoner has important ethical, human rights, and historical weight,” lawyer Sergey Ivaschenko expressed his point of view.