1385th Meeting of the Committee of Ministers (7 October 2020)
- The European Union continues to follow closely the situation of Yuri Dmitriev, a respected historian known for his human rights work and his research on political repression in the Soviet period.
- On 29 September 2020, Mr Dmitriev had his sentence increased by the Supreme Court of Karelia from 3 years and 6 months to 13 years’ imprisonment in a high security penal colony. Other charges for which he was already acquitted by the first instance court were turned back for reconsideration in the Petrozavodsk City Court. Mr Dmitriev has already spent over three years in detention, having been initially arrested in December 2016 on questionable grounds.
- We reiterate our growing concerns about Mr Dmitriev’s continuing detention based on spurious charges which we see as connected to his work as a historian and human rights defender. We also reiterate our call on the Russian authorities to release Mr Dmitriev immediately and unconditionally. His release is all the more urgent since his health has deteriorated significantly since the beginning of his detention, which puts him at additional risk in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
- The recent sentencing of Mr Dmitriev is the latest manifestation of the pressures on independent civil society, human rights defenders and independent political voices, as well as the restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Russian Federation. The EU expects Russia to uphold its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, to ensure full respect of European human rights standards. In this regard, we also recall the statements of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty during the pandemic.
