Rights expert demands release of Russian doctor jailed for anti-war views
15 November 2024
A UN rights expert has called for the immediate release of a Russian doctor who was sentenced to six years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
Anastasia Vasilyeva, a UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said Dr. Alexey Navalny was a “prisoner of conscience” who had been detained and imprisoned solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression.
“The detention and imprisonment of Dr. Navalny is a clear violation of his right to freedom of opinion and expression, and a violation of Russia’s obligations under international human rights law,” Vasilyeva said in a statement.
Navalny, 56, was arrested in March 2022 after he spoke out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on social media. He was charged with “spreading false information about the Russian army” and sentenced to six years in prison in August 2023.
Vasilyeva said that Navalny’s trial was “grossly unfair” and that the charges against him were “fabricated.” She said that Navalny had been denied access to proper legal representation and that the court had refused to consider evidence of his innocence.
“Dr. Navalny is a victim of a politically motivated prosecution and should be released immediately and unconditionally,” Vasilyeva said.
Navalny’s imprisonment has been condemned by human rights groups around the world. The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, said that Navalny’s imprisonment was “a blatant attack on freedom of expression and human rights in Russia.”
The United States government has also condemned Navalny’s imprisonment. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Navalny was “a political prisoner of conscience” and that his imprisonment was “a grave injustice.”
Navalny is one of many Russian citizens who have been arrested and imprisoned for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. According to the Russian human rights group OVD-Info, more than 16,000 people have been detained in Russia for anti-war protests since the start of the war.
The Russian government has defended its crackdown on dissent, saying that it is necessary to protect national security. However, critics say that the government is using the war as a pretext to silence dissent and suppress opposition to the war.
Vasilyeva called on the Russian government to release Navalny and all other prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally. She also urged the government to respect its obligations under international human rights law and to ensure that everyone in Russia enjoys the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Rights expert demands release of Russian doctor jailed for anti-war views
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