Press Release, 14.05.2025

Photo: Grigory Melkonyants in the Basmanny Court, Moscow, at one of the hearings / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 14 May, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced electoral expert Grigory Melkonyants, Сo-Сhairman of the Golos independent election observers movement, to five years of imprisonment under the article on the activities of an “undesirable organisation”. Since August 2023, Melkonyants has been in pretrial detention. During the trial, Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov and the head of the Yabloko’s office Yevgenia Vlasova, who has been training election observers for many years, spoke in court in defence of Melkonyants. Alexander Shishlov, Coordinator of the Yabloko Political Committee and a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, came to the court hearings twice – his reports in the status of the Commissioner for Human Rights in St. Petersburg, prepared with the participation of Melkonyants, were attached to the case.

The Yabloko party considers the persecution of the election observers movement Golos to be politically motivated and states: a blow to observers is a blow to the entire institution of elections in Russia.

Below are the commentaries by the Yabloko party leaders on the sentence of Grigory Melkonyants.

Nikolai Rybakov, Chairman of the Yabloko party:

“This sentence represents not only another case of the “Basmanny justice”, but also a classic example of political repression: when there is no evidence, but there is an order to “punish” a person.

Such a sentence plays very much into the hands of those who want forceful changes in our country, revolutionary changes. In this way, the authorities only prove that those who want peaceful changes will also be subjected to repression. This is very dangerous for the future.

We demand an end to politically motivated persecution and express our support and solidarity to Grigory Melkonyants and activists of the Golos movement.”

Boris Vishnevsky, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko:

“The verdict “guilty” against Grigory Melkonyants is outrageous and has nothing to do with legality or justice.

A crystal-clear and absolutely law-abiding person was sentenced to five years in prison for fighting for fair elections in Russia while strictly abiding the law.

The time will come when this and other unlawful rulings will be recognised as null and void, and the victims of repression will be exonerated.”

Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko:

“The repressive state machine rolled over an honest person who was monitoring the elections. Honest monitoring of elections is a criminal offense in modern Russia.

This is the signal that the authorities are sending to society – at the cost of the freedom of an honest person.

Strength and patience to Grigory.”

Anna Cherepanova, Deputy Chair of Yabloko and a deputy of the City Duma of Veliky Novgorod:

“Grigory Melkonyants did not belong to any political party, he was engaged in ensuring that elections in Russia were fair and free, and therefore were a real institution for the rotation of power. Grigory did not leave the country, and before the presidential elections of 2024 the regime took revenge on him by arresting him on a trumped-up charge.

The dictatorship needs decorative elections with a predictable result, so independent experts and observers have become redundant.”

Lev Shlosberg, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko:

“The criminal case against Grigory Melkonyants is politically motivated, framed-up, unconstitutional in its meaning and unlawful in its execution. Today the court has joined this unconstitutional action. This does not give legality to the political order, it is an attempt to put the mantle of legality on the gloomy dress of the absence of rights and lawlessness.

I would suggest that all the accomplices in organising this case are confident or at least hope that they will not have to bear responsibility for such a criminal case, such an accusation and such a sentence. I want history to shatter this confidence not justifying their hopes.”