Sokurov Fears Criminal Prosecution After Speaking at HRC Meeting | News from Germany about Russia

Russian film director Alexander Sokurov fears criminal prosecution because of his statements at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He told Interfax about this on Saturday, December 11, commenting on the proposal of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, to check Sokurov’s words for extremism.

“I am afraid (of criminal prosecution – Ed.), but I hope that the president will not allow this, because the Human Rights Council is designed for that, so that different points of view, including political issues, are expressed there, it was created for this. And the president participates in a dialogue both with the members of the Council and with different citizens who have different points of view, “the agency quotes Sokurov, who is a member of the HRC.

When asked if he would apologize for his words, the director stressed that the speech at the council was a discussion with the president. He also noted that the leadership of Chechnya is not disposed to dialogue and replaces “political discussion with threats.”

Dispute between Sokurov and Putin

At a meeting of the HRC held on Thursday, December 9, with the participation of Putin, Sokurov entered into a polemic with the head of state. He pointed out a number of problems associated with the country’s structure. In particular, the director suggested “letting go” of those republics within Russia that “no longer want to live with us in the same state.” Putin replied that it was necessary to “think well” before making such statements.

The head of Chechnya, Kadyrov, on his Telegram channel, called on the competent authorities to check Sokurov’s statements “for an anti-state and extremist fact.” Later, the speaker of the regional parliament, Magomed Daudov, said on Instagram that the parliament would officially make a request to the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin.

At the same time, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the arrest of Sokurov “is out of the question.” “The President treats him very kindly. But a dispute is a dispute,” said Peskov.

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