HRC "Memorial" extends list of political prisoners

The lists of people recognized by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" as political prisoners mention 23 people, including residents of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kalmykia, and the Krasnodar Territory. In total, there are 118 people in the lists, and that is 16 more than in late October of 2016.

"The lists are certainly incomplete. In many cases, it was not possible to get materials, and in many others, materials are under examination... However, the number of names on the lists is growing, and that indicates the growth of the scale of politically motivated repressions in the country," note human rights defenders from the HRC "Memorial".

The list of persons deprived of liberty in connection with violations of the right to freedom of religion now also includes 15 defendants accused of plotting a terror act in the Moscow cinema "Kyrgyzstan". Besides, that part of the list now also includes the name of Dagestani activist Khiramagomed Magomedov, one of the leaders of the public organization "Union of the Just", sentenced on the charge of involvement in the organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir al Islami", recognized in the Russian Federation as a terrorist organization.

Besides, the list of political prisoners was also extended with the names of Crimean activist Vladimir Balukh, mathematician Dmitry Bogatov, Sergey Eretnov, a deputy and a journalist from Tatarstan, Moscow activist Sergey Reznikov, and three Sochi residents Marina Djandjgava, Inga Tutisani, and Annik Kesyan, sentenced for sending SMS to Georgia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.