Resolution of the 18th YABLOKO Congress, 24.12.2015

The Congress states that pressure from the administrative and the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Karelia on the leaders and members of the Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO has been steadily increasing.

YABLOKO’s regional branch in Karelia is the most active political organisation [in the Republic of Karelia] – it is an opponent of the regional authorities, regularly participates and wins in elections of different levels presenting an oppositional programme to the society. Despite unjustified withdrawal from elections of many party candidates, YABLOKO members managed to become deputies of local self-government, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the capital of the Republic and the parliament of the Republic. The victory of YABLOKO’s candidate Galina Shirshina in the Petrozavodsk mayoral election in [September] 2013 was a bright political success. Despite the counteraction of the current administration and their increased use of the administrative resources, YABLOKO’s candidate won a landslide victory, receiving 41.9 per cent of the votes. The success of the regional branch of YABLOKO and the inability of the Karelian authorities to confront our party in an open political struggle for the votes made them rely on their single resource – the law enforcement.-

In 2013-2014, four criminal cases (with further arrests, numerous searches and other acts of intimidation) were raised against members of the Karelian YABLOKO team. In November 2015, Petrozavodsk City Court sentenced Evgenia Sukhorukova, deputy mayor of Petrozavodsk, to three years of probation, in accordance with Article 286 Part 3 of the Criminal Code “Abuse of Power”. On 28 December hearings in the Supreme Court of Karelia will take place on the case. The defence of Evgenia Sukhorukova will be seeking her acquittal, however, the prosecutors demand three years of imprisonment for the mother of young child. At present there is an ongoing trial over Svetlana Chechil, member of the Federal Council of the YABLOKO party and former head of the Administration of Prionezhsky municipal district of the Republic of Karelia. She has been also charged under Article 286 Part 1 of the Criminal Code “Abuse of Power”.

Also, there is one more trial over party members – heads of Petrozavodsk City Council of Veterans Galina Karasova and Nina Vasilyeva. They are accused of violating the election law. They rejected termination of the criminal prosecution under amnesty and are seeking an acquittal in court.

A case against four Karelian YABLOKO members raised under Article 159 Part 4 of the Criminal Code of Russia “Fraud” – Vasily Popov, member of the Political Committee of the party, Anastasia Kravchuk, YABLOKO Bureau member, Olga Zaletskaya, deputy of the Petrozavodsk City Council from the YABLOKO party, and Alexandra Kornilova – was sent to the prosecutor’s office for a verdict. An ordinary commercial transaction on a purchase of municipal property at a public tender, where neither a single law and nor a normative act was violated, and every step was confirmed by the decisions of the civil and the arbitration courts, was presented by the investigators as a criminal intent. The Memorial Human Rights Centre announced Olga Zaletskaya, Alexandra Kornilova, Anastasia Kravchuk and Vasily Popov be unlawfully persecuted for political reasons. There is a desire to discredit and morally destroy a strong political opponent – the regional branch of the YABLOKO party.

The YABLOKO Congress assesses prosecution of YABLOKO activists in Karelia as politically motivated. Such practices raise deep concern, and we consider it necessary to draw the attention of the government and society to the extremely dangerous trend of criminal prosecution of representatives of an oppositional political party.

The YABLOKO party admonishes of involving all the measures within the framework of the Russian Federation laws so that to protect its members.

Emilia Slabunova,

Chair of the YABLOKO party