Russian opposition politician and municipal deputy Ilya Yashin was supposed to leave the special detention center where he was serving a fifteen-day arrest under Part 1 of Art. 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for “disobedience to the police”, on the night of July 13. However, a few hours before the expiration of the term, a criminal case was opened against him under Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” A few days ago, under the same article, Ilya’s colleague, municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to 7 years. The reason for the criminal case against Yashin was a video dated April 7 on his YouTube channel, in which the politician talked about the crimes of Russian military personnel in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Ilya Yashin is one of the most prominent Russian opposition politicians remaining in Russia. For us, his consistent anti-war position is obvious, which he did not change from the very moment of the start of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine on February 24.
The Free Russia Forum stands for the immediate release of Ilya Yashin and all those convicted under Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which violates the right of Russian citizens to freedom of speech and expression of their civil position. The persons involved in the persecution of Yashin, in our opinion, are not judges or law enforcement officers but are minions of Putin’s dictatorship. Soon, they will be included in the “Putin’s List”, and the Free Russia Forum will make every effort to ensure that the persons involved in the unjust and illegal persecution of Ilya Yashin and Alexei Gorinov, as well as other Russian citizens persecuted under this article, are included in the international sanctions lists. And in the future free Russia, we are sure that they will definitely face a fair trial and suffer a well-deserved punishment.
Free Russia Forum
July 13, 2022
