By Natalia Prilutskaya, Campaigner for Amnesty International’s the Russian Federation Team. See original article here.
There were hopes that the court would find Aleksei Sokolov not guilty in all three of the crimes he was charged with, and that he would be released.
The judge of the Bogdanovich town court in the Sverdlovsk region cleared Aleksei Sokolov of one charge – a robbery in 2004, but found him guilty of theft, allegedly committed in 2001 and another robbery, allegedly committed in 2004.
Doubtful conviction
Aleksei Sokolov is the head of Pravovaia Osnova (Legal Basis), an organization which is campaigning against torture and other ill-treatment in Russian prisons.
He became well-known after he publicized and distributed the film Torture Factory about torture and other ill-treatment in a temporary holding centre in Yekaterinburg prison colony IK-2. The film received wide coverage, both in the Russian Federation and internationally, and led to the closure of IK-2.
Aleksei Sokolov’s lawyers reported that the court based its verdict solely on the statements of the co-accused in the case, which often contradicted each other as well as the individuals’ earlier “confessions”.
One of Aleksei Sokolov’s lawyers said that while victims of the crimes had identified the other defendants in the case as possible perpetrators of the crime, none of them had identified Aleksei Sokolov.
Numerous violations
The court nevertheless found that the co-defendants’ statements were enough to convict Aleksei Sokolov. The judge did not take note of the obvious discrepancies.
Aleksei Sokolov will appeal against his sentence and it is expected that the appeal will be considered in June. His lawyers reported, there were numerous violations in handling his case at pre-trial and trial stages.
So far, compared to other detainees, he has been treated relatively well, possibly due to the international attention that his case has received. There are rumours that he may be sent to serve his sentence in a prison colony in the Russian Far East, some thousands of kilometres from his family and friends.
Goal – to provide fair trial
The author of the article, Natalia
Prilutskaya, Campaigner for Amnesty International’s the Russian Federation Team, asks whether he will become another victim of the ruthless machine of Russian penitentiary system after he has done much to expose cases of ill-treatment and torture in prison colonies.
While there is still time, all what is possible should be done to urge the Russian authorities to ensure Aleksei Sokolov is provided with a fair trial. Is is also needed need to urge authorities to ensure that Aleksei Sokolov is not tortured or ill-treated while he remains in custody.
According to Natalia Prilutskaya, international attention and pressure may have contributed to the prosecutors’ decision to ask for a lesser punishment for Aleksei Sokolov. She asks to take more action to ensure that justice and truth win in this case.
Take action
She asks to join with activists in Spain who have just issued a web action lobbying their Minister of Foreign Affairs to take up the case of Aleksei Sokolov at the upcoming EU-Russia summit, or to join the Urgent Action on Aleksei Sokolov.
