We often say that defending human rights is becoming steadily more difficult, that democracy is in decline worldwide, and that the situation is becoming darker by the day. Yet even under this heavy, dark sky, there are still stars—activists, human rights defenders and political prisoners whose courage burns brightly. Though unjustly imprisoned, their spirit remains free, and their defiance continues to inspire. One of these stars is Grigory Melkonyants, a prominent Russian election expert and co-chair of Golos, an independent election monitoring movement, who received the NHC’s Sakharov Freedom Award in 2012. Grigory was arrested on August 17, 2023. During the months and particularly the last weeks, we have been following his trial.
The prosecutors of Moscow’s Basmanny Court demanded a six-year prison sentence, the maximum possible, on charges of ‘organising the activities of an ‘undesirable’ organisation.’ The prosecution’s case rests on an alleged connection between Golos and the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), an international body Russia declared ‘undesirable’ in 2021. However, Russian authorities have never applied this ‘undesirable’ label to Golos themself, whether in its current form or its previous iteration as an association. As Mediazona puts it, Melkonyants’ defence team made two central counterarguments: firstly, the specific Golos entity that was once affiliated with ENEMO had already been formally dissolved before ENEMO was blacklisted; the current Golos movement is not a member of ENEMO. Evidence submitted against Melkonyants includes a transcript of his speech at a roundtable hosted by Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC).
On May 12, Grigory delivered some amazing and encouraging supportive words from behind bars – we share some with you:
‘(…) this prison period has been very fruitful for me, both as a person and as a lawyer. I have enriched myself creatively: I started drawing, making collages and crafts, and writing poetry. I have gained a new perspective on people, relationships, and processes.’
‘I began to enjoy the very flow of life, work, creativity, and intellectual freedom more. One can imprison a person, but thought cannot be locked up, stopped, or taken away. My entire journey and what has been and remains my world cannot be taken away or cancelled. Perhaps to some, it seems dull, but without just laws and clear, proper procedures, the society we all dream of is impossible. I think about this constantly, and I am sure I am not in it alone. We are united by an unshakeable urge to think, to consider what will make the world better, and the will to make our own small contribution.’
Norway will have Storting elections in September 2025. Let these words from the most prominent election expert inspire you to make YOUR choice:
‘There are those who doubt whether honest elections are possible, who doubt whether it is worth participating in them. These are fair questions. In moments of doubt, one should not forget that humans are not perfect, and therefore, elections are not perfect. Elections reveal all the human vices we struggle against throughout our lives. Each of us daily makes a choice between kindness and malice, love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, strength and weakness, generosity and greed, truth and falsehood, optimism and apathy, humility and pride, sincerity and self-interest, joy and despair, participation and indifference.’
‘Our path is to make the right choice and to raise the level of honesty and common sense. Without you and me, elections cannot make themselves honest. People make them honest. Happy people. Observe, participate, and rejoice more in life. Raise the level of honesty and common sense, drop by drop, step by step, day by day.’