Number of political prisoners in Russia exceeds 230
Radio Liberty informed this with reference to the report, led by Perseus Strategies, a Washington-based law firm focused on human rights.
The report noted that political opponents, Ukrainian activists and citizens, civil society activists, journalists, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, alleged spies, and LGBT persons were routinely targeted for persecution by the Russian authorities.
The report called for the introduction of targeted sanctions against individuals found responsible for political persecution in Russia. “Unless serious consequences are imposed on these officials, the Kremlin will continue to believe it can act with total impunity,“ reads the report.
The document paid particular attention to Russia’s repressive laws adopted since 2012, which introduce or strengthen criminal or administrative prosecution for mass simultaneous presence in public causing a violation of public order, insulting the religious feelings of believers, promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations among minors, public calls for actions violating Russia’s territorial integrity, deliberate dissemination of false information regarding the USSR’s activities during World War II, recruiting someone for an extremist community, dissemination of inaccurate information and others.
Separately, the report mentioned Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on trumped-up charge of plotting terrorist attacks.
As of March 25, 2019, there were 236 political prisoners on Memorial HRC’s list, which included 182 imprisoned for their religion and 54 imprisoned on political grounds.
As reported, more than 70 Ukrainian political prisoners are held in Russia and in the occupied Crimea, including Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko, who was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony for alleged spying.
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