Press release, 21.11.2016

Last week YABLOKO Chair Emilia Slabunova and head of the Karelia party branch Alexandra Spiridonova visited YABLOKO Federal Council member Svetlana Chechil, who is serving one and a half years sentence in a Prison Settlement No. 9 in Russia’s northern Karelia Region (a penal colony in a remote area where prisoners are free to roam the village but under the guards’ watch) as a result of fabricated charges.

The criminal case against Svetlana Chechil was filed right after the elections of 2013. On the eve of the election Governor of Karelia Alexander Khudilainen warned Svetlana Chechil that she would have to talk to an investigator soon. Earlier First Deputy Governor Oleg Gromov had hinted Chechil at the possible consequences of her political disobedience.

During the meeting with her party fellow members Chechil told them that she had been reprimanded by the prison’s administration for sharing a patty with the other inmate. According to Emilia Slabunova, the move was meant to prevent her from winning early release. Svetlana Chechil’s petition on early release will be reviewed on December 12.

“Svetlana Chechil’s case is a striking example of the way the law enforcement is used to crack down on political opponents. We are making every effort to release Svetlana Chechil as soon as possible,” Emilia Slabunova noted.

Andrei Babushkin, member of the Presidential Council for human rights appealed to Chair of the Council Mikhail Fedotov demanding to handle the situation.

During 2013-2015 a large number of criminal cases were filed against the members of YABLOKO’s team: Deputy Mayor of Petrozavodsk Evgenia Sukhorukova, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia Anastasia Kravchuk, leader of the regional YABLOKO branch Vasily Popov, Chair of the army veterans council of the city Galina Karasova, deputy of Petrozavodsk City Council Olga Zaletskaya and other party members. The elected mayor of Petrozavodsk Galina Shirshina was illegally ousted from her position.