Russian

В Амстердаме прошла акция солидарности с российскими политзаключенными

1 декабря 2024 года в Амстердаме прошла акция солидарности с российскими политическими заключенными. На митинг собрались более 30 человек, чтобы выразить свою поддержку тем, кто оказался за решеткой за свою смелость противостоять репрессивному режиму.

На мероприятии участники рассказывали истории людей, которые попали в путинские тюрьмы за свои убеждения. Эти люди — журналисты, активисты, правозащитники и обычные граждане, которые не смогли молчать перед лицом несправедливости. Их судьбы стали символом несгибаемой воли и борьбы за свободу.

“Нас много, а он один”, — прозвучало в одном из лозунгов, которыми участники митинга выразили свое убеждение в силе объединения. Другой важный слоган акции — “Наши сердца сильнее его власти” — подчеркнул, что несмотря на репрессии, солидарность и поддержка способны преодолеть страх и несправедливость.

Митинг напомнил, что борьба за права человека и свободу слова не имеет границ. Присутствующие выразили надежду, что подобные акции будут вдохновлять людей по всему миру не оставаться равнодушными к судьбе российских политзаключенных.

English

Solidarity Rally for Russian Political Prisoners

Held in Amsterdam

On December 1, 2024, a solidarity rally for Russian political prisoners took place in Amsterdam. More than 30 people gathered to show their support for those imprisoned for their courage in standing up to a repressive regime.

During the event, participants shared stories of individuals who ended up in Putin’s prisons for their convictions. These individuals—journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and ordinary citizens—could not remain silent in the face of injustice. Their stories have become symbols of unyielding will and the fight for freedom.

“We are many, and he is only one,” declared one of the slogans, reflecting the participants’ belief in the power of unity. Another key slogan of the rally, “Our hearts are stronger than his power,” emphasized that despite repression, solidarity and support can overcome fear and injustice.

The rally served as a reminder that the fight for human rights and freedom of speech knows no borders. Attendees expressed hope that events like this will inspire people worldwide to stand against indifference and support Russian political prisoners.

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Photo by: Kirill Khinev

English

Gathering with Ilya Yashin in Amsterdam: a look into the future of the Russian opposition

On 6 November a gathering with Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin took place in Amsterdam, in which we, a group of Russian activists supported by Stichting Jeannette Noël Huis, took part.

Ilya has just recently been released from prison as a result of a massive prisoner swap between Russia and the West on 01 August 2024.

He spent 25 months in a Russian prison for covering Russian army crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, whose tragic events caused shock around the world and were widely reported, including in the Dutch press.

The meeting was attended by almost 500 people. Ilya Yashin, who found himself in exile involuntarily, shared how his life had changed during these months in freedom and what difficulties he had faced during his imprisonment. He said that even while in prison he did not give up trying to persuade supporters of the war, and he managed to dissuade some fellow inmates from signing a contract and save them from being sent to war.

He spoke about the importance of continuing to talk to people who remain in Russia and support the current regime.

He also touched on the importance of the letters he has received from all over the world and encouraged everyone to keep writing to political prisoners, as it is one of the few ways for them to feel the support they lack in prison.

Ilya announced the upcoming anti-war march in Berlin on 17 November, organised by Yulia Navalnaya, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza. This large-scale action should be an important step towards the consolidation of the Russian opposition, with politicians in unifying positions.

During the Q&A session we told Yashin that we are planning a rally in solidarity with Russian political prisoners on 01 December 2024 and asked him to help with information support. The politician said that yes, he is ready to help small initiative groups as part of the formation of a broad opposition movement and is currently thinking about what concrete steps and actions can be taken in this direction.

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Photo by: Kirill Khinev

English

Join the action in support of political prisoners!

Date:  Sunday 01.12.2024
Time: 13.00 – 14.00 hours
Place:  de Dam, Amsterdam

Dear friends!

Today in Russia hundreds of people are unjustly imprisoned for their beliefs, for the right to speak the truth and fight for justice. These are political prisoners whose only “criminal” deed is the pursuit of freedom and truth. We cannot remain indifferent!

The next solidarity rally will take place on 1 December 2024 on the Dam square in Amsterdam from 13 – 14 hour followed by impromptu Russian tea & friendship.

Come and support those imprisoned for political reasons.

Every voice counts, every step towards freedom is important! Let’s show together that we are many, that we remember and do not give up!

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Photo by: Yuri Aleksin

Russian:

11 сентября 2024 года в Гааге прошел митинг в поддержку российских политзаключенных. В мероприятии приняли участие спикеры из России и Нидерландов, которые рассказали истории людей, лишившихся свободы за несогласие с режимом Путина. Участники зачитали открытое письмо с призывом к немедленному освобождению всех политзаключенных, прекращению войны и остановке репрессий. Митинг был организован российскими активистами при поддержке Stichting Jeannette Noel House и Free Russia NL.

English:

On 11 September 2024, a rally in support of Russian political prisoners was held in The Hague. The event featured speakers from Russia and the Netherlands who told the stories of people who were imprisoned for disagreeing with the Putin regime. Participants read an open letter calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners, an end to war and a halt to repression. The rally was organised by Russian activists with the support of Stichting Jeannette Noel House and Free Russia NL.

Open letter to the President of the Russian Federation
To the President of the Russian Federation V.V.Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich!

We, a group of citizens of the Russian Federation, who are forced to stay outside their native country, appeal to you as the guarantor of the Constitution, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation!

We consider unacceptable the situation when citizens of the Russian Federation are deprived of liberty or subjected to forced treatment for expressing an opinion, for comments, likes and other public actions. This is not just a violation of human rights, it is an absolute discrediting and discrimination against civil society in our country, aimed at suppressing any dissent or expression of disagreement.

State, law enforcement and judicial bodies of the Russian Federation systematically and massively violate Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Russian citizens are sentenced to unimaginable terms of imprisonment actually for the manifestation of the right declared by Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means.

Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states:

1. Everyone shall be guaranteed freedom of thought and speech.

2. Propaganda or agitation inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred and enmity shall not be permitted. Propaganda of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic superiority shall be prohibited

(3) No one may be compelled to express his or her opinions and convictions or to refuse to express them.

4. Everyone shall have the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means. The list of information constituting a state secret shall be determined by federal law.

5. Freedom of mass information is guaranteed. Censorship is prohibited.

It is not uncommon for Russian citizens to be subjected to imprisonment (or other forms of punishment) for “intent” (as interpreted by the authorities) or “calling to commit a ‘crime'” (as interpreted by the authorities).

Under penalty of punishment, Russian citizens cannot express their personal opinions on political events, proposed or already introduced censorship regulations and responsibility for violating these regulations and censorship. This has been publicly recognised by your press secretary Dmitry Peskov. In an interview with the TASS news agency on Friday, 6 September, Peskov said the following: “…in the state of war we are in, restrictions are justified, just as censorship is justified, what’s the sin – we are in a state of war.”

You, Vladimir Vladimirovich, refer to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army only as a “Special Military Operation”. Russian citizens are punished under Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for labelling a Special Military Operation as a “WAR”. For the so-called discrediting of the army, this article provides for one of four forms of punishment:

– a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years;

– Forced labour for a term of up to three years, or arrest for a term of four to six months;

– imprisonment for up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or engage in certain activities for the same period.

We, the citizens of the Russian Federation, are outraged by such selective application of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has literally been turned into a repressive instrument of pressure on the society of our country.

Together with this open letter, we, a group of Russian citizens, are sending a list containing 343 names of those who have been recognised as political prisoners by the Memorial Centre or the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” and are serving a sentence of real imprisonment, are under detention or house arrest until the sentence enters into legal force.

We are convinced that a free person has the right, can and must express solidarity with those who were not afraid, with those who did not remain silent, with those who suffered for their and our beliefs. We, as citizens of the Russian Federation, have such a right, enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, of which you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, are the guarantor.

The reason for the introduction of censorship in the country, as publicly stated by Dmitry Peskov, is the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine. This war, like any other war that has happened in the history of mankind, can only become a catastrophe and is already becoming one.

War cannot be a normal ending in a family’s system of life values!

War cannot be a stimulus in demographic policy!

War is an obsolete political instrument!

Stop the war!

We demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from the territory of the sovereign state of Ukraine and an end to the fratricidal war unleashed by the Russian Federation on someone else’s territory.

We demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, as they are accused of disseminating information about the situation, causes, details of the conduct or results of the war, called “SWO” in official sources. Stop political repression!

We are sure that millions of our fellow citizens, who cannot express their position publicly in their own country, will support us. Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russians who publicly express disagreement with Russia’s military aggression have been severely persecuted. People are being imprisoned for expressing their civic position. Our fellow citizens from 14 to 72 years of age have already been imprisoned.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, you are the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and are obliged to ensure that the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens are respected!

Freedom for all political prisoners!

Secretary of the initiative group  – Ilmira Khusainshina

11.09.2024

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На 11 сентября запланировано первое слушание по апелляции на приговор Саше Скочиленко в 7 лет. Саша сейчас на свободе после обмена пленными.

Российские власти также должны безоговорочно освободить всех других лиц, произвольно задержанных по политическим мотивам, таких как Наталья Филонова, Владимир Румянцев, Мария Пономаренко, Алексей Горинов и многие другие. Россия должна отменить репрессивное законодательство, допускающее эти преследования, и прекратить войну!

В среду, 11 сентября 2024 года, группа активистов проводит митинг-протест перед посольством Российской Федерации – “ОСТАНОВИТЬ ВОЙНУ И ОСВОБОДИТЬ ВСЕХ УЗНИКОВ МИРА” – в знак солидарности и поддержки сотен людей, находящихся в тюрьме за свою антивоенную позицию. Позиции, которой должен придерживаться каждый, кто считает себя человеком.

«…благоденствие нашего мира зависит не только от исторических, но и от житейских деяний; и если ваши и мои дела обстоят не так скверно, как могли бы, мы во многом обязаны этим людям, которые жили рядом с нами, незаметно и честно, и покоятся в безвестных могилах». Джордж Эллиот, «Миддлмарч».

Место проведения: Посольство Российской Федерации, Andries Bickerweg 2, 2517 JP Den Haag
Время: 14 – 15 час.
После вас ждёт импровизированное чаепитие. Принесите с собой печенье, чтобы поделиться.

Для получения дополнительной информации или если вам нужна помощь или вы можете принять участие в оплате поездки сообщите нам:
Hope-of-Russia@proton.me

Призываем вас прийти и поддержать этот митинг.

• • • Дневник Саши Сочиленко: Дневник Саши Сочиленко
    • Telegram: Свободу Саше Скочиленко!
    • Сайт, на котором, среди прочего, указаны пять ценников, за которые она получила 7 лет тюрьмы: Свободу Саше Скочиленко!
    • Instagram: Freedom for all war resisters!
    • Facebook: Free Sascha and all war resisters!
    • Рекомендуем к просмотру: Documentary
    • Книги Саши: http://books.skochilenko.ru
    • Open letter to president Putin

English

“Free Sasha Skochilenko” and all resisters to war and dictatorship

On September 11th the first hearing was planned of the appeal against Sasha Skochilenko’s sentence of 7 years. Sascha is free after a prisoner swap.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, a group of activists holds a rally-protest in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation – STOP THE WAR & FREE ALL PRISONERS OF PEACE” – as a sign of solidarity and support for the hundreds of people still in prison for their anti-war stance. A stance that anyone who considers themselves a human being should adhere to.

The Russian authorities must also unconditionally release all other persons arbitrarily detained on political grounds, such as Natalia Filonova, Vladimir Rumyantsev, Maria Ponomarenko, Aleksei Gorinov and many others. Russia should scrap oppressive legislation that allows these persecutions AND STOP THE WAR!

“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs”. George Elliot, Middlemarch

Where: Embassy of the Russian Federation, Andries Bickerweg 2, 2517 JP Den Haag
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 h
After the rally there will be an impromptu tea party in the park opposite the embassy. Bring a cookie to share.

We urge you to come out and support this rally.

For more information or if you need help with or can contribute to travel costs, let us know:
Hope-of-Russia@proton.me

• • • • Sascha’s prison diary and prison art, in Russian: Sascha’s prison diary & art
      • Website featuring among others the five price tags that got her 7 years imprisonment: Free Sasha Skochilenko!
      • Instagram: Свободу Саше!
      • Facebook: Free Sascha and all war resisters!
      • Suggested vieuwing: Documentary
      • Books: http://books.skochilenko.ru