Lilia Chanysheva was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison
[ad_1]
A Ufa court has sentenced two supporters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny to life imprisonment, charged under “extremist” articles. The ex-coordinator of his city headquarters (“Navalny’s Headquarters” was recognized as an extremist organization, liquidated and banned in Russia), 41-year-old Lilia Chanysheva (listed as terrorists and extremists), was sentenced to seven and a half years in a general regime colony. Former HQ activist Rustem Mulyukov received two and a half years. Ms. Chanysheva repeated in court that she considers her persecution politically motivated, and her lawyer recalled the anti-corruption investigations of the convict – one of which the court, however, took into account as a mitigating circumstance.
On Wednesday, the judge of the Kirovsky District Court of Ufa, Azamat Bikchurin, announced the verdicts for supporters of Alexei Navalny. The judge did not read the reasoning part of the verdict. It is known that its volume is more than 130 pages.
Ms. Chanysheva was found guilty of organizing an extremist community (part 3 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), of public calls to carry out extremist activities (part 1 of article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and of participating in the activities of a non-profit organization that infringes on the person and rights citizens (part 3 of article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). state prosecution demanded for her 12 years in prison, but the court noticeably mitigated the punishment. On the first charge, she was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison in a penal colony, as well as a fine of 400,000 rubles. In addition, the court forbade her for seven years “to engage in activities related to the administration of sites, as well as organizing, holding mass events, participating in them and visiting places where they are held” and imposed a restriction of freedom for two years. For incitement to extremism and participation in the activities of NGOs, the court released Ms. Chanysheva from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Lilia Chanysheva is 41 years old. She received a higher economic education, worked in the consulting companies PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. In 2017, she joined the supporters of Alexei Navalny and focused on public anti-corruption activities. So, she revealed a scheme for the illegal purchase of Christmas trees by the authorities of the republic from a single supplier at the end of 2020. Regional OFAS confirmed that the contract worth 115 million rubles. was concluded on uncompetitive terms and at an inflated price. Later, a criminal case was initiated against the official who signed the controversial contract.
The court found Rustem Mulyukov guilty of participation in an extremist community (part 2 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The state prosecution asked to sentence him to five years, but the court sentenced him to two years and six months in prison with restriction of liberty for a period of one year.
As previously reported by “Kommersant”, Lilia Chanysheva was arrested in November 2021 in Ufa, then transferred to the Moscow SIZO-6, where she was kept until February of this year. Later she was returned to the pre-trial detention center in Ufa. The defendants pleaded not guilty throughout the trial. Lilia Chanysheva stated in court that the criminal case was politically motivated. Rustem Mulyukov denied his participation in the activities of Navalny’s headquarters. The case was heard behind closed doors.
About 50 people gathered for the announcement of the verdict – they were allowed into the courtroom for the first time in the entire process.
After the judge announced the deadlines, Lilia Chanysheva thanked the audience: “Everything is much easier to endure with you. I really need your letters and postcards. I enjoy reading them. I’m on the coast. I won’t give up either. Willing to pay the price, hopefully not in vain.”
Her husband Almaz Gatin said that the verdict will be appealed: “We will defend to the end.” Lawyer Ramil Gizatullin told Kommersant that the court recognized Lilia Chanysheva’s investigation into the purchase of Christmas trees as a mitigating circumstance: “Earlier, the OFAS, the prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Belarus, and the republican Investigative Committee announced the protection of the interests of the budget for this dubious purchase. What kind of extremist activity of Chanysheva can we talk about? Mr. Mulyukov also intends to appeal the verdict.
Recall that earlier Lilia Chanysheva was supported in the European Union. The EU’s chief spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano, said that the criminal case was needed “to intimidate those who dared to openly express their position” and called on the Russian authorities to immediately release her.
The press service of the prosecutor’s office of Bashkiria did not answer the question about filing an appeal.
[ad_2]
Source link
