Press release, 21.03.2017
ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen MEP and IFLRY demand to release Kirill Bobro, Chairman of the Stavropol branch of Yabloko Youth.

“I join the call for the immediate release of youth activist Kirill Bobro of ALDE Party’s Russia member Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko, who has been detained for two months on fake charges and risks many years of imprisonment. He and his activists have been very active in the Stavropol region and were organisers of the Boris #Nemtsov memorial action in their city in February,” Hans van Baalen wrote.

IFLRY claims that the persecution of Kirill Bobro is politically motivated. “The Russian government is once again using law enforcement for its own political gains and furthering their crackdown of the opposition. This is unacceptable and we fully support Yabloko youth, their mother party Yabloko and Liberal International in demanding his immediate release and condemning these unacceptable actions!” runs their statement.

LYMEC also calls upon the Russian authorities to end the repression on opposition members and guarantee Kirill Bobro a fair trial as guaranteed by the Russian constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights, of which Russia is a signatory.

Chair of LI Human Rights Committee and Vice-President on LI Bureau Markus Loening also called for the immediate release of the leader of the Youth Yabloko branch in Stavropol (South Russia) Kirill Bobro.

The International Network of Liberal Women calls Russia’s authorities to free Kirill Bobro and protect all other girls and boys who want to participate peacefully in politics.

On 20 March, Stavropol’s Leninsky District Court arrested Kirill Bobro, Chairman of the Yabloko Youth branch in Stavropol, for two months. He is accused of drug possession. Two packages of drugs were planted in Kirill’s flat by the officers of the Centre for Combating Extremism during a search in the activist’s home last Thursday. The court refused to take into account the facts that Kirill Bobro has a little son and that YABLOKO is ready to put up bail for him.

YABLOKO also hosted an online Flash Mod calling the Internet users to post pictures in support of Kirill Bobro with a hashtag #СвободуКириллуБобро (#FreeKirillBobro).