The YABLOKO party notes with concern a new wave of reprisals
against YABLOKO members.
The adoption of the Federal Law "On the Counteraction
to the Extremist Activity" encouraged the law enforcement
activities that are clearly violating the law: gathering information
about the members of the party and their activities, inviting
them for conversations [in the police], detentions, searches,
seizure of documents and institution of criminal proceedings.
According to the Federal Security Bureau Department (FSB)
for the Sverdlovsk region, the YABLOKO party is a radical
oppositional structure sharply criticising the state authorities
and negatively assessing broadening of the proxies of the
FSB of Russia. According to FSB, it is a party setting such
a goals as changing Putin-Medvedevs regime, elimination of
monopoly in politics, economy and media and the democratisation
of the country.
Such a political stance of the party was laid in the basis
of the ruling of the Sverdlovsk Region Court giving a permission
to wiretap all the telephone conversations conducted by Maxim
Petlin, Chair of the Sverdlovsk Region branch of the Russian
United Democratic Party YABLOKO, control all his postal, telegraph
and other messages and information from technical communication
channels, as well as put him on surveillance.
After the decision of the court, further supported later by
a judge of the Supreme Court in response to a complaint filed
by Maxim Petlin [to the Supreme Court], we can conclude that
a political surveillance regime has been introduced in respect
of the YABLOKO party, as well as other opposition parties
claiming similar goals.
This is confirmed by another request from the security services:
the FSB in the city of Velsk in the Arkhangelsk Region send
an inquiry so that to obtain a list of YABLOKO party members.
The state power bodies are persecuting representatives of
a registered political party which has been acting openly
and absolutely legally. For all the years of its operation
the YABLOKO party has never provided an occasion for equating
it with extremist organisations. Today, the government apparently
regards the words "opposition" and "extremism"
as synonyms.
Such actions not only fail to comply with, but completely
violate the requirements of the Constitution of the Russian
Federation and Federal Laws "On the Counteraction to
Extremist Activity" and "On the Investigation and
Surveillance" and belie the common sense.
Similar persecutions and an obvious danger of a getting an
imprisonment term have already made Suren Gazaryan, activist
of the Krasnodar branch of the YABLOKO party, who openly criticised
Governor [of the Krasnodar Territory] Alexander Tkachyov,
ask for political asylum in Estonia. Gazaryan is one of many
politically active citizens who chose this way to avoid imprisonment.
The phenomenon of political emigration is now back in our
country.
Persecution of YABLOKO members is on a par with accusations
and reprisals against the media, lawsuits and other forms
of pressure against representatives of non-systemic opposition,
environmentalists and civil activists.
The authorities have begun fighting against the opposition
not in the elections but with the help of reprisals in accordance
with the Stalinist model.
The YABLOKO party urges to immediately adopt measures so that
to stop pressures and persecution of members of the YABLOKO
party, as well as representatives of other opposition forces,
and to bring those responsible [for such reprisals] to justice.
Sergei Mitrokhin
Chairman
See also:
Human
Rights
|
