"Roizman's precedent*"

Members of the HRC “In Exile” sent the head of the Council to Fadeev a letter in defense of the politician

Frankly selective violence by the Russian state in relation to civil society has been most noticeably manifested in the recent number of administrative and criminal cases for statements that do not coincide with the line of official propaganda - the administrative persecution of Evgeny Roizman*was one of these. But the same policy, which has at least a ten -year -old (since the appearance of legislation on “foreign agents”), is expressed in the fact that the once existing and more or less effectively working institutions of civil society emerge and turn into simulacra.

The media, independent advocacy, public supervisory commissions (PMCs), several years ago, effectively defending the rights of citizens deprived of liberty, as well as other “public” institutions several years ago, become imitation. Last but not least, this trend also affected the Presidential Council for Human Rights, the personal composition of which was noticeably updated by the exclusion of some of its members and co -optation of others.

Many human rights activists and civilian activists who did not receive any privileges, except for the opportunity to speak with government officials in a slightly more convincing register, were beyond the board of the Council, but did not cease to adhere to the same beliefs and engage in the same work. Preserving previous connections, we naturally discuss the current events and the reaction of the HRC to them - or rather, its absence. Of course, with the majority of councils retaining their status, we may have different opinions about what human rights and their protection are, but there are cases when it is simply impossible not to take a particular public position.

This category also includes court decisions on the administrative detention of Evgeny Roizman. And the point is not that he is a kind acquaintance of many who decided to “fit for him” in a letter that is completely given below,

And the fact that its case means the transition to another level of state and judicial arbitrariness.

All arguments and our common position are clearly set out in the letter. It was edited collectively, including those who, for various reasons, did not consider it possible to sign it. We also know that a number of members of the HRCs remaining in its composition intend to continue to seek some of its common and official position in the council.

It remains for me to add that the collective open letter given below related to the court pursuit of Evgeny Roizman, at 17 o’clock on March 30, I sent Valery Fadeev by e -mail to the official address of the chairman of the CNC, taking advantage of the fact that last year’s presidential decree on the rotation of the Council I was not excluded from it, although on February 24, 2022 I announced the termination of my participation in his work.

Leonid Nikitinsky

OPEN LETTER
Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, chairman of the HRC Mr. V. A. Fadeev

Dear Valery Alexandrovich!

Two weeks, during which the administrative arrest of ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman, was serving, we, members of the Human Rights Council, tried to achieve the reaction of both the HRC and your personal to illegal, in our opinion, the decision of the courts in this case. The relevant proposals and arguments through our comrades who retain the status of members of the HRC were sent to you and Mr. I. S. Ashmanov, who heads the work group of HRCs to protect human rights in digital space and should be more clearly more understanding which procedural actions were not fulfilled by the courts, making a decision on the administrative arrest of Roizman.

We certainly respect court decisions, but judges cannot be independent of the actual circumstances of criminal and administrative cases.

At the annual meetings of the President with the HRC, as well as in the order of current informing, members of the Council tried to draw the attention of the President to those cases of violations of the law that could create dangerous precedents in law enforcement practice. The violation of the rights of Evgeny Roizman is unprecedented, and the fact that he is a well -known regional politician who took an active part in the exit meetings of the HRC in the Sverdlovsk region, only makes his case more resonant.

The inquiry bodies incriminated to Roizman the placement of a certain post containing prohibited symbolism on the VKontakte social network. Meanwhile, Roizman claims that he never had an account on this network. His lawyer V. Idamzhapov first informed the district, and then the Sverdlovsk regional courts that back in January he turned to the police and asked her employees to clarify the VKontakte network from the administration, who posted this information. Article 5.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (“Presumption of Innociality”) states: “A person is subject to administrative responsibility only for those administrative offenses in respect of which his fault is established.” The specified presumption imposes the burden of proof of the inquiry bodies, however, from a technical point of view, actions were not performed from evidence of the guilt of the accused by them.

We, human rights activists and civilian activists, who knew how to seek the protection of the rights of specific citizens, in particular with the help of the HRC, do not like how the judges “approximately” combine their actions with the dispositions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. But so far they still adhered to facts and have not charged with citizens of the Russian Federation of misconduct or crimes, which they, apparently, did not commit at all. “Roizman’s precedent” thus reveals a new page in the law enforcement practice of political (in accordance with the very composition of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) of the Russian Federation) repressions. This practice, not being stopped, will create a danger of a massive violation of citizens' rights in the future, including in the field of criminal law.

We ask you now that Yevgeny Roizman has already left the deadline for administrative arrest, albeit belatedly, to perform the following actions:

- as an adviser to the president, to bring to his attention this position of members of the HRCs of the former and current compositions appointed by the presidential decrees;

-as the chairman of the HRC, contact the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation Mr. I.V. Krasnov with a petition to use the authorities of supervisory authority to eliminate violations of the law in the Roizman case;

-As the chairman of the HRC, to contact the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Ms. T. N. Moskalkova, who has the right to raise a question related to the violations of the Roizman Precedent, the rights of an indefinite circle of persons to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Signatures:

• Alexander Verkhovsky

• Ekaterina Vinokurova

• Natalia Evdokimova

• Igor Kalyapin

• Leonid Nikitinsky

• Dmitry Oreshkin

• Elena Panfilova

• Mara Polyakova

• Igor Pastukhov

• Vladimir Ryakhovsky

• Ilya Shablinsky

• Ekaterina Shulman

• Svetlana Gannushkina

* Entered the Russian authorities in the register of "foreign agents"