“This is out of the question!” — Peskov on Sokurov’s arrest for speaking at a meeting of the Human Rights Council

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the radio station “Moscow Speaks” that “there can be no talk” of arresting director Alexander Sokurov for speaking at a meeting of the Human Rights Council (HRC).

The HRC meeting took place the day before, on December 9. Sokurov mentioned problems in the Caucasus and, speaking about the regions, proposed “to let go of everyone who no longer wants to live with us in the same state.” Putin called the director’s speech “not a speech, but a manifesto - a set of problems and a set of fears” and noted that “some things are better to be said directly, and about some things it is better to remain silent.”

The next day, the publication “Rise” published Sokurov’s reaction to “the fact that with his question he actually called for a violation of territorial integrity, and there is a criminal article for this”: “My God, my God... Let them regard it as they want. This is beyond the scope of my comments.” “If a decision is made to arrest me or do something, I won’t be able to avoid it. I don’t know what the consequences might be,” he said.

The radio station “Moscow Speaks” turned to Peskov with a request to comment on the director’s concerns. "Of course not! This is out of the question! The President treats him very kindly. But a dispute is a dispute,” the press secretary replied.