Press Release, 15.07.2022

Photo: Vladimir Kara-Murza and Dmitry Ivanov

The Yabloko party in Moscow has started collection of guarantees for politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and Dmitry Ivanov, the author of the Protest MGU Telegram Channel, so that they could be released on bail. Kara-Murza and Ivanov are now under arrest on criminal charges of “fakes about the Russian army”. Any Russian citizen over the age of 18 can stand surety for political prisoners.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained by his house on 11 April. He was charged with disobeying the police. The court found Kara-Murza guilty and sentenced him to 15 days of arrest. While Kara-Murza was serving his arrest, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a case against him for “military fakes” (Article 207.3, Part 2, Clause “d” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). On 22 April, the Basmanny Court of Moscow took Kara-Murza into custody. On the same evening, Ministry of Justice included Kara-Murza into the register of foreign agents.

According to investigators, Vladimir Kara-Murza speaking in the Arizona House of Representatives on 15 March, gave “deliberately false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces for bombings of residential areas, social infrastructure facilities, including maternity hospitals, hospitals and schools” in Ukraine.

Kara-Murza was taken into custody until 12 August, the date of the trial on changing the preventive measure has not yet been set.

We are also collecting guarantees for Dmitry Ivanov, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Higher Mathematics and Cybernetics of Moscow State University. In his Telegram Channel, Dmitry covered protest actions, persecution of activists and journalists, and after 24 February he has been expressing his pacifist stance. Dmitry’s home was searched in the case on “military fakes” (Article 207.3, Part 2, Clause “d” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) on 2 June, while he was serving his arrest for 25 days under Article 20.2, Part 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (repeated violation of the established procedure for organising or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing).

Hearings on an appeal against the chosen measure of restraint against Dmitry Ivanov will be held in the Moscow City Court on 18 July. The court should take into account the guarantees collected at the Yabloko office and submitted by the defence.

Yabloko is asking Russian citizens to come to its Moscow office and sign guarantees for Dmitry Ivanov and Vladimir Kara-Murza.