Press Release, 16.12.2021

Photo: Ronald Ayrapetyan / Ronald Ayrapetyan’s Telegram channel

Ronald Hayrapetyan, a member of the Yabloko party from Kislovodsk, South Russia, asked for political asylum in the Netherlands.

Ronald Ayrapetyan decided to leave Russia after he was abducted by unidentified persons on 25 November. According to Ayrapetyan, three men grabbed him as he walked out of the store, pushed him into a black minivan and took him to a forest in the Lazarevsky district of Sochi. Taking out a pistol the men threatened the activist with murder and demanded that he remove his Telegram channel with about 300 subscribers. Then they kicked Ayrapetyan in the stomach and sprayed with pepper spray in his eyes, leaving him in the forest.

“On 16 November, I held a picket in support of the founder of the Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky, and on 22 November, I distributed leaflets in support of Yabloko. On 24 November, Grigory Yavlinsky called me and said that I was a brave and strong man. I wrote about this in my Telegram channel. The next day, 25 November, I was abducted by unidentified persons. I am sure that they were FSB (Federal Security Service) officers,” Ronald Ayrapetyan said.

It should be noted that earlier Ronald Ayrapetyan was repeatedly pressured, he was detained by the Kislovodsk Mayor’s Office on 26 June during a picket against Vladimir Putin’s amendments to the Constitution and the “reset” of presidential terms.

After a single picket, Ronald Ayrapetyan received threats from unidentified persons. The activist found a note with threats in his mailbox on 8 July. The note ran that if Ronald Hayrapetyan came out to protest against Putin again, he would go to jail. Subsequently, the activist of the Stavropol Yabloko was fired from his job for his political views. Also Ayrapetyan was attacked with a knife and threatened with murder because of his protest activities.

Vitaly Zubenko, Chairman of the Stavropol branch of Yabloko, called on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to deal with the unlawful persecution of the Stavropol Yabloko activist.