08 June 2024, 19:08
Oleg Orlov* reports to court violation of his rights after verdict
The transfer to Syzran after the verdict complicated consultations with a Moscow advocate and became a violation of the right to defence, complained Oleg Orlov*, the co-chair of the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence*. An advocate of the human rights defender requested court to return Oleg Orlov* to Moscow.
Diplomats from embassies of 17 countries and the European Union (EU) came to the Moscow City Court to support Oleg Orlov* during the consideration of his appeal against the verdict. The human rights defender himself is being kept in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) in Syzran and participates in the court hearing via video conference.
On February 27, the court found Oleg Orlov* guilty in a criminal case on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and sentenced him to 2.5 years of imprisonment. On March 11, the defence filed a complaint against the verdict.
Oleg Orlov* has emphasized that he does not have the opportunity to regularly receive legal advice. “I don’t intend to change my advocate, and I don’t possess extra amounts of money to pay for my advocate’s trips. I believe that my rights have been grossly violated,” the human rights defender claimed.
Oleg Orlov* has added that he did not have enough time to look through all the case materials.
“Oleg Orlov* stays himself alone in another region, without legal support and the support of his relatives,” noted advocate Katerina Tertukhina.
On April 15, it became known that 71-year-old Oleg Orlov* was transferred from Moscow to Samara. The human rights defender claimed that he was not notified about the transfer in advance, which is why he did not have enough time to collect the necessary personal belongings. On April 25, it became known that he had been transferred to Syzran.
*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.
**As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the register of foreign agents was the spread of “inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces.”
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 7, 2024 at 01:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent
