The top of Russia’s solely unbiased election watchdog was sentenced on Wednesday to 5 years in jail after being convicted of working with an “undesirable” group, in keeping with his legal professional, costs that rights teams have criticized as politically pushed.
Grigory Melkonyants, a co-founder of the Russian election monitoring group Golos, was jailed in 2023 after President Vladimir V. Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine and led a broad crackdown at dwelling. Charged with “organizing the actions of an undesirable group,” Mr. Melkonyants, 44, pleaded not responsible when his trial opened final September.
On Wednesday, he was convicted in a Moscow court docket and sentenced to 5 years in a jail colony, his lawyer, Mikhail Biryukov, advised The New York Occasions. Mr. Biryukov mentioned he deliberate to enchantment, calling the decision “politically motivated.”
“Don’t fear, I’m not shedding hope,” Mr. Melkonyants advised supporters and the press within the courtroom after the decision, the unbiased Russian information outlet Mediazona reported.
Golos, which was based in 2000 and documented widespread election fraud, was labeled a “international agent” by the Russian authorities in 2013. However the costs in opposition to Mr. Melkonyants relate to the group’s previous affiliation with the European Community of Election Monitoring Organizations, which the Russian authorities declared “undesirable” in 2021 — making any affiliation with it a possible crime. Golos has mentioned it terminated its participation with the affiliation following the choice.
The “undesirable” label has been used to outlaw undesirable teams, together with NGOs and media organizations, and crack down on dissent. However Mr. Melkonyants was apolitical, Roman Udot, a longtime colleague who lives in exile, mentioned.
He famous that whereas numerous civil activists fled Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Melkonyants insisted on staying put and specializing in his experience, with out taking sides.
Leonid Volkov, a detailed affiliate of Mr. Navalny, on Wednesday condemned the decision.
“Golos gave rise to an enormous election monitoring motion in Russia in 2011, then the protests started which gave Putin fairly a scare: So a few years have handed — and he nonetheless seeks revenge,” he wrote on social media.
After mounting stress from the Russian authorities, Golos was designated a international agent in 2013. Three years later, Russia’s Justice Ministry used the designation to power Golos to shut down, though it restarted below a brand new authorized entity. After the battle in Ukraine started, the Russian authorities cracked down tougher on the group.
Human rights officers and organizations had been fast to sentence Wednesday’s verdict as politically pushed. Britain’s human rights ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, mentioned it served as “one other reminder of the Kremlin’s repression,” whereas Norway’s International Ministry mentioned it demonstrated the “continued authoritarian path” in Russia.
Amnesty Worldwide — which had listed Mr. Melkonyants as a prisoner of conscience — mentioned the decision was “appalling” and known as for the conviction to be quashed.
“Melkonyants has dedicated no crime — his solely ‘offense’ was defending the fitting to free and honest elections in Russia,” Marie Struthers, the group’s director for Japanese Europe and Central Asia, mentioned in a assertion. “That is nothing greater than a brazen and politically motivated clampdown on peaceable activism.”