This report contains a list of cases of those currently detained or imprisoned on politically motivated charges. Since the list was published, the three activists who raised the German flag in Kaliningrad on the eve of the Crimea vote have also been released. The list has been drawn up according to the criteria set out in PACE Resolution No. 1900, from 3 October 2012.
The list has been compiled by the Memorial Human Rights Centre, who underline that the list is far from exhaustive. Over the great territory of the Russian Federation there is a large probability that there are other prisoners who should be on the list, but they either haven’t managed to obtain sufficient information for a definite conclusion, or they haven’t yet finished investigating the information received. The names on the list have gone through a thorough investigation process.
The categories that most likely are misrepresented on the list are the large number of criminal cases against Ukrainian citizens, and also cases charging Muslims under articles of the Russian Criminal Code on extremism.
In the new politically-motivated prosecutions in Russia today, various instruments of prosecutions are employed: direct falsification of evidence, arbitrary and expanded interpretations of the statutes of criminal law, the use of illegally or irresponsibly worded statutes of legislation, the unfounded criminal interpretation of factual circumstances, and combinations of these instruments.
The report provides detailed information about each of the political prisoners, including the facts and circumstances of their arrests, and political motivations.
The list is arranged alphabetically, and includes prisoners of mainly the following categories:
1. Human rights defenders and activists,
2. Bolotnaya Case demonstrators,
3. Political opposition,
4. Religious activists or believers,
5. Journalists and bloggers,
6. Labour Union activists,
7. Cases related to espionage and Ukraine,
8. Other cases