“6 May Committee” Spoke out in Support of Those Accused in the “Bolotnaya Matter”

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Human Rights Center Memorial

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Jul 13, 2012, 9:42:54 AM7/13/12

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“6 May Committee” Spoke out in Support of Those Accused in the “Bolotnaya Matter”

An application was also made to hold a rally in their support on 26 July

On 12 July 2012, Sergei Davidis and Anna Karetnikova, members of the Memorial Human Rights Center Board and the manager and employee of Memorial's program supporting contemporary political prisoners respectively took part in the "6 May Committee"'s press-conference on 6 May*. The conference was dedicated to the campaign in defense of suspects and accused in the matter of "mass disorder" on 6 May 2012 on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. It will be recalled that criminal proceedings were brought pursuant to the laws on mass disorder and use of force against public officers on the day of the events; 14 people have been charged, 11 of whom are in custody, 1 under house arrest, and 2 released on their own recognisanze. Memorial considers these matters to be political (see the declaration at the following link: http://www.memo.ru/eng/news/2012/07/11/1107123.html).

Lawyers Dmitry Agranovsky and Valery Shukhardin, Maria Baronova, an accused in the matter, Izabel Makgoeva, member of the 6 May Committee, and human rights defender Lev Ponomarev also took part in the press-conference.

Sergei Davidis spoke on the legal aspects of the charges, their prejudicial nature, and the multitude of facts which show the falsification of criminal matters and give reason to suggest that the process is politically motivated.

Anna Karetnikova, who participated in the visit by members of the Moscow Public Observatory Commission to the isolation wards where the prisoners of 6 May are held, noted that the conditions in the investigatory isolation ward (SIZO) were satisfactory and there was no information available suggesting pressure on the prisoners from the side of the SIZO employees.

Dmitry Agranovsky, lawyer for Vladimir Akimenkov and Yaroslav Belousov, and Valery Shukhardin, Mikhail Kosenko's defender, spoke on the prosecution's lack of evidence and the violations of their clients' rights.

Maria Baronova, accused in the "Bolotnaya matter" and released on her own recognizance, spoke on the pressure exerted on her by state guardianship agencies: on 25 June officers came to her house, as neighbours had allegedly complained that Baronova was mistreating her child. The activist also considers that preventative measures in the form of custodial detention for 11 of the accused are unreasonable.

Izabel Makgoeva reported that an application was made to the Mayor's office on holding a rally on 26 July for up to 5,000 people. The organizers will protest against the falsification of criminal matters and are calling for broad support of the accused in the “Bolotnaya matter”.

Lev Ponomarev spoke about two public hearings on the events of 6 May, which took place in the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center in June and July. He emphasised the necessity of wider public attention to the 6 May matter.

Memorial Human Rights Center is following the consequences of this matter.

*The "6 May Committee" (http://6may.org/) coordinates help and assistance to those charged in the 'mass disorder' matter of 6 May 2012 on Bolotnaya Square.