108 new names have been added to the list of political prisoners in Russia since the beginning of the year | News from Germany about Russia | DW

According to the estimates of the Russian human rights center Memorial, in the seven and a half months since the beginning of 2021, the total number of political prisoners in Russia has increased by 61 – from 349 to 410 people. Human rights activists announced this on Monday, August 16, publishing updated lists of political prisoners.

At the same time, the number of new names in the lists of political prisoners added to them since the beginning of the year is even higher – 108. The difference is explained by the fact that 47 people were released.

Human rights activists draw attention to the fact that the inclusion of new names in the lists not only reflects changes in the fate of people – new arrests, changes in preventive measures, sentencing of imprisonment – but is also the result of work on the analysis of criminal cases, the defendants of which were caught for grill earlier. “Nevertheless, the changes in the lists generally reflect the dynamics of the general situation with political prisoners,” the human rights center said in a statement.

According to Memorial, 329 of the total number of political prisoners are imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or religious affiliation, and 81 for other political reasons.

Navalny and his supporters are on the list of political prisoners

Among the new political prisoners, the Memorial employees included, in particular, both the creator of the Anti-Corruption Fund, Alexei Navalny, and the arrested participants of the actions of solidarity with him in January 2021, as well as those who spoke about the protests on the network (persons involved in the sanitary affairs “, journalists of the student publication Doxa). In addition, prosecutions continued in connection with statements and dissemination of information on the Internet, and on the eve of the elections to the State Duma, many potential candidates were prosecuted on “various illegal and unfounded charges”.

Memorial also notes unceasing pressure on believers: in the last seven months alone, nine unjustly convicted in the case of an explosion in the St. Petersburg metro, more than 20 Muslims accused of membership in the banned organizations Tablighi Jamaat and Hizb ut-Tahrir have been recognized as political prisoners. al-Islami “, as well as 46 Jehovah’s Witnesses who have ended up under house arrest or behind bars.

According to human rights activists, the real number of those imprisoned for political reasons is significantly higher; the names of many people who are probably political prisoners were not included in the lists. Information about them is being collected and the circumstances of their persecution are being investigated.

See also:

• Infographics: Political Prisoners in Russia in Facts and Figures

  Not on the lists

  Now in Russia, according to various estimates, more than 300 people are being persecuted for political reasons. In reality, human rights activists argue, this figure is much higher. The term “political persecution” is evaluative, since there are no political articles in the Russian Criminal Code officially. Who is considered a political prisoner is up to human rights organizations, including international ones.

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  Infographics: Political Prisoners in Russia in Facts and Figures

  Regional statistics

  Tatarstan and Bashkortostan lead after Moscow in the number of criminal cases. The reason is the persecution of members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is banned in the Russian Federation and in a number of countries. The Memorial Center refuses to consider it terrorist. The Murmansk region was in the top 10 because of the Arctic Sunrise case: in 2013, Greenpeace activists tried to infiltrate an oil platform and stage a protest.

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  Infographics: Political Prisoners in Russia in Facts and Figures

  Prisoners of conscience

  Most of all political prisoners are still prisoners of conscience. Amnesty International counts among them, for example, most of the defendants in the “swamp case”.

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  Infographics: Political Prisoners in Russia in Facts and Figures

  Against faith, opposition and ecology

  “Most of the people who fall into the ‘other’ category participate in various religious organizations whose activities are prohibited in Russia. They are not activists, just people of various professions who have common beliefs,” says politpressing.org project coordinator Grigory Durnovo.

  Author: Elena Barysheva

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