Latest news with #AlexeiGorinov
NDTV
a day ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Jailed Russian Dissidents Call For Mass Prisoner Release As Part Of Ukraine Peace Deal
London: Eleven jailed Russian dissidents have written to world leaders appealing for a mass release of Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilians held by Russia - some 10,000 people in total, they say - as part of any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. In the letter, published via Reuters, the dissidents said that alongside prisoners of war, thousands of Ukrainian civilian "hostages" were being held by Russia, mostly in Russian-held areas of Ukraine. Talks in May and June on ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made no progress towards a ceasefire, despite a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, but the two sides have exchanged captured soldiers and war dead. "We call on both sides of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to immediately conduct an exchange of prisoners of war and civilians according to the formula 'all for all', including Ukrainian civilian hostages," the letter said. Among the signatories was Alexei Gorinov, 63, who in 2022 became the first person to go to prison under laws passed shortly after the Ukraine invasion that made it a crime to spread "false information" about the armed forces. The youngest to sign was Darya Kozyreva, 19, who was sentenced in April to two years and eight months in prison for using graffiti and 19th-century poetry to protest against the war in Ukraine. They placed themselves alongside thousands of Ukrainians who, according to human rights groups, have been detained by Russia, mostly in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. "There are at least 10,000 of us - Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages. We are all punished for one thing - for taking a civic stance," they wrote. Moscow has not commented on the alleged figure. The dissidents called for "the immediate and unconditional release of sick political prisoners who are dying in Russian prisons" in their statement, which was backed by a message from Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov. Muratov's message and the letter urged leaders in Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and elsewhere to act. RUSSIA'S PEACE TERMS At the peace talks in Istanbul last month, Russia handed Ukraine a memorandum proposing "a mutual amnesty of 'political prisoners' and release of detained civilians" as a possible condition for a ceasefire in the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Asked about the status of the proposal and how many people it would cover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "We don't publicly discuss the... content of the memorandum, which we haven't even discussed with the Ukrainian side yet. We believe that discussion through the media can only harm the process." The proposal was part of a wider package of Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as an ultimatum. They include a halt to all Ukrainian troop movements except for withdrawals, and end to call-ups, foreign weapons supplies and martial law as well as the holding of new presidential and parliamentary elections. No date has yet been set for further talks. Describing their experience, the dissidents wrote: "The concepts of justice and fairness are absent in Russia today; anyone who dares to think critically can end up behind bars." Defendants in political cases had no chance of a fair hearing and were never acquitted, they said. Once in prison, their lives were in danger and they were at risk of denunciations from other inmates - something that led, in Gorinov's case, to an additional three-year sentence. The other signatories were sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky, self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov, poet Artem Kamardin and activists Anna Arkhipova, Vladimir Domnin, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Trofimov, Ilya Shakursky and Alexander Shestun. The Kremlin says cases are a matter for the courts and the prison service and Russia needs to apply its laws firmly to deter what it sees as subversive, Western-backed activity. Elena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who helped gather the signatures from inmates scattered across Russia's vast penal system, told Reuters the prisoners felt the peace talks may provide their last chance to be free. "If peace agreements are signed without taking into account their amnesty, exchange or any other way of release, the window of opportunity will slam shut for a long time."
The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
Exclusive-Jailed Russian dissidents call for mass prisoner release as part of a peace deal with Ukraine
LONDON (Reuters) -Eleven jailed Russian dissidents have written to world leaders appealing for a mass release of Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilians held by Russia - some 10,000 people in total, they say - as part of any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. In the letter, published via Reuters, the dissidents said that alongside prisoners of war, thousands of Ukrainian civilian "hostages" were being held by Russia, mostly in Russian-held areas of Ukraine. Talks in May and June on ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made no progress towards a ceasefire, despite a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, but the two sides have exchanged captured soldiers and war dead. "We call on both sides of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to immediately conduct an exchange of prisoners of war and civilians according to the formula 'all for all', including Ukrainian civilian hostages," the letter said. Among the signatories was Alexei Gorinov, 63, who in 2022 became the first person to go to prison under laws passed shortly after the Ukraine invasion that made it a crime to spread "false information" about the armed forces. The youngest to sign was Darya Kozyreva, 19, who was sentenced in April to two years and eight months in prison for using graffiti and 19th-century poetry to protest against the war in Ukraine. They placed themselves alongside thousands of Ukrainians who, according to human rights groups, have been detained by Russia, mostly in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. "There are at least 10,000 of us - Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages. We are all punished for one thing - for taking a civic stance," they wrote. Moscow has not commented on the alleged figure. The dissidents called for "the immediate and unconditional release of sick political prisoners who are dying in Russian prisons" in their statement, which was backed by a message from Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov. Muratov's message and the letter urged leaders in Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and elsewhere to act. RUSSIA'S PEACE TERMS At the peace talks in Istanbul last month, Russia handed Ukraine a memorandum proposing "a mutual amnesty of 'political prisoners' and release of detained civilians" as a possible condition for a ceasefire in the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Asked about the status of the proposal and how many people it would cover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "We don't publicly discuss the... content of the memorandum, which we haven't even discussed with the Ukrainian side yet. We believe that discussion through the media can only harm the process." The proposal was part of a wider package of Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as an ultimatum. They include a halt to all Ukrainian troop movements except for withdrawals, and end to call-ups, foreign weapons supplies and martial law as well as the holding of new presidential and parliamentary elections. No date has yet been set for further talks. Describing their experience, the dissidents wrote: "The concepts of justice and fairness are absent in Russia today; anyone who dares to think critically can end up behind bars." Defendants in political cases had no chance of a fair hearing and were never acquitted, they said. Once in prison, their lives were in danger and they were at risk of denunciations from other inmates - something that led, in Gorinov's case, to an additional three-year sentence. The other signatories were sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky, self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov, poet Artem Kamardin and activists Anna Arkhipova, Vladimir Domnin, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Trofimov, Ilya Shakursky and Alexander Shestun. The Kremlin says cases are a matter for the courts and the prison service and Russia needs to apply its laws firmly to deter what it sees as subversive, Western-backed activity. Elena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who helped gather the signatures from inmates scattered across Russia's vast penal system, told Reuters the prisoners felt the peace talks may provide their last chance to be free. "If peace agreements are signed without taking into account their amnesty, exchange or any other way of release, the window of opportunity will slam shut for a long time." (Additional reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Jailed Russian dissidents call for mass prisoner release as part of a peace deal with Ukraine
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Moscow city councillor Alexei Gorinov, accused of \"disseminating clearly false information about Russia's army\", holds a placard reading \"Do you still need this war?\" as he stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo LONDON - Eleven jailed Russian dissidents have written to world leaders appealing for a mass release of Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilians held by Russia - some 10,000 people in total, they say - as part of any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. In the letter, published via Reuters, the dissidents said that alongside prisoners of war, thousands of Ukrainian civilian "hostages" were being held by Russia, mostly in Russian-held areas of Ukraine. Talks in May and June on ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made no progress towards a ceasefire, despite a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, but the two sides have exchanged captured soldiers and war dead. "We call on both sides of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to immediately conduct an exchange of prisoners of war and civilians according to the formula 'all for all', including Ukrainian civilian hostages," the letter said. Among the signatories was Alexei Gorinov, 63, who in 2022 became the first person to go to prison under laws passed shortly after the Ukraine invasion that made it a crime to spread "false information" about the armed forces. The youngest to sign was Darya Kozyreva, 19, who was sentenced in April to two years and eight months in prison for using graffiti and 19th-century poetry to protest against the war in Ukraine. They placed themselves alongside thousands of Ukrainians who, according to human rights groups, have been detained by Russia, mostly in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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The dissidents called for "the immediate and unconditional release of sick political prisoners who are dying in Russian prisons" in their statement, which was backed by a message from Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov. Muratov's message and the letter urged leaders in Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and elsewhere to act. RUSSIA'S PEACE TERMS At the peace talks in Istanbul last month, Russia handed Ukraine a memorandum proposing "a mutual amnesty of 'political prisoners' and release of detained civilians" as a possible condition for a ceasefire in the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Asked about the status of the proposal and how many people it would cover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "We don't publicly discuss the... content of the memorandum, which we haven't even discussed with the Ukrainian side yet. We believe that discussion through the media can only harm the process." The proposal was part of a wider package of Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as an ultimatum. They include a halt to all Ukrainian troop movements except for withdrawals, and end to call-ups, foreign weapons supplies and martial law as well as the holding of new presidential and parliamentary elections. No date has yet been set for further talks. Describing their experience, the dissidents wrote: "The concepts of justice and fairness are absent in Russia today; anyone who dares to think critically can end up behind bars." Defendants in political cases had no chance of a fair hearing and were never acquitted, they said. Once in prison, their lives were in danger and they were at risk of denunciations from other inmates - something that led, in Gorinov's case, to an additional three-year sentence. The other signatories were sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky, self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov, poet Artem Kamardin and activists Anna Arkhipova, Vladimir Domnin, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Trofimov, Ilya Shakursky and Alexander Shestun. The Kremlin says cases are a matter for the courts and the prison service and Russia needs to apply its laws firmly to deter what it sees as subversive, Western-backed activity. Elena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who helped gather the signatures from inmates scattered across Russia's vast penal system, told Reuters the prisoners felt the peace talks may provide their last chance to be free. "If peace agreements are signed without taking into account their amnesty, exchange or any other way of release, the window of opportunity will slam shut for a long time." REUTERS
Reuters
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian dissident Gorinov fails in appeal against sentence for 'justifying terrorism'
April 3 (Reuters) - A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by dissident Alexei Gorinov against a three-year prison sentence for "justifying terrorism", a human rights group said. The sentence was meted out to Gorinov last November on top of a seven-year term he was already serving after being convicted in 2022 of spreading "deliberately false information" about the Russian army and its actions in Ukraine. The charge of "justifying terrorism" - which he denied - was based on conversations with other prisoners that Gorinov's defence lawyers said had been secretly recorded. They said the other inmates had tried to provoke him into making political comments. Gorinov, 63, is one of the most prominent remaining jailed critics of Russia's government and the war in Ukraine following a big East-West prisoner swap in August 2024 that saw the release of others including politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and human rights activist Oleg Orlov. Last month he was placed on an official register of "terrorists and extremists". Rights group OVD-Info said his appeal was rejected by a panel of judges at a hearing on Thursday in which he took part by video link from a prison in the city of Vladimir. It said he complained several times about the poor quality of the connection, saying he could not hear the proceedings. Russian and Western rights groups have tracked Gorinov's case with particular concern, given his age and precarious health. He has a history of lung problems, and supporters say he has at times been deprived of blankets, warm clothes and heating. But despite his conditions and the length of his sentence, he has shown humour and resilience. In a message posted via supporters last month, Gorinov described an epic bureaucratic battle with prison authorities to win the return of a piece of cutlery that had been confiscated from him. The prison staff, he said, were subject to "some kind of complex about plastic spoons which could only be explained by a psychoanalyst of the calibre of the illustrious Sigmund Freud".
