“Lev Ponomarev is one of the pillars of the human rights movement in Russia. With this sentence the Russian authorities have shown their contempt for human rights, punishing a man who has devoted his life to defending them,” said Natalia Zviagina, Director of Amnesty International’s Office in Moscow.
“After speaking out against the injustices suffered by others at the hands of Russia’s so-called justice system, Lev Ponomarev is now its latest victim. For the Russian authorities, Ponomarev’s outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights equates him to a criminal. By locking him up over a Facebook post, written in support of a peaceful rally, the authorities have shown they will stop at nothing to crush freedoms in Russia.”
Background
On December 2, Lev Ponomarev was charged with “repeated violation” of the restrictive Russian law on public assemblies, on account of a Facebook post published in October. The post called for a peaceful rally to show solidarity with young activists arrested under repressive Russian “anti-extremism” and “anti-terrorism” laws. Earlier, in July, Ponomarev had been fined for holding a one-man picket in support of the prosecuted activists, which made this a “repeated offense”.
The prominent human rights defender sought the authorities’ approval for the rally but was arbitrarily denied it. The rally in Moscow scheduled on October 28 was banned and its participants were dispersed by the police.