People in Need’s statement concerning the case of Igor Shevtsov
Published: May 30, 2016 Reading time: 3 minutes
People in Need is concerned by the sentencing of Igor Shevtsov. Mr. Shevtsov is a Russian citizen studying in the Czech Republic who has received a court order to leave the country with a two-year ban on entry, having been sentenced for “aiding in criminal damage”. We do not want to comment on Mr. Shevtsov’s complicity in the alleged crime, but we would like to raise our concerns about the serious danger he would face upon his return to Russia due to the court’s decision.
Igor Shevtsov is one of many Russian citizens who are facing persecution by the Russian security forces because of their activism and public dissent against the current social and political situation in Russia. He was fined because of his public statements against neo-Nazi movements, and he was also prosecuted for distributing leaflets against Russia’s participation in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which was labeled as an unlawful public protest by the Russian authorities. This ruling was revoked by a Russian court after further investigation.
The Municipal court in Prague justifies its verdict by stating that “during the investigation, no facts preventing the penalty of deportation were found,” and that “there is no risk that the offender will face persecution in his home country.” We believe that the opposite might be true and, if deported, he could be persecuted by Russian authorities because of his citizen activism.
Repression against civil society, attacks against the freedom of speech and assembly, political violence – this is the reality of contemporary Russia. Critics of the Russian regime are frequently persecuted by citing certain paragraphs of the criminal code on extremism and, from 2014 onwards, also separatism. The Supreme court of the Russian Federation says in its annual report that 544 people were sentenced based on anti-extremism laws in 2015, which is a 30% increase from the previous year. The number of people sentenced based on anti-separatism laws also increased significantly. One of many examples is the case of Rafis Kashapov, who was sentenced to three years in prison in September 2015 because of his remarks on social media sites, where he criticized the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s participation in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
We are also very concerned that during the trial in Prague, the court referred to information from the Russian Federal Security Service. We would like to point out that this security agency is one of the main instruments of repression against civil society in Russia and its information about activities of activists such as Mr. Shevtsov are untrustworthy.
The Czech Criminal Code prohibits the court from sentencing anyone to deportation if there is a risk that the convicted person will be persecuted “because of his political opinions” in the country of destination. In light of this law, we ask the Czech courts to refuse to deport people who can face repression for their civil and political activities in their countries of origin. We also call for the Minister of Justice Robert Pelikán to use his legal right and appeal against this court decision.
Contact:
Ivana Skálová, Head of People in Need's East European Programme within the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, tel. (+420) 777 787 952
