This time, the hearing is an appeal following his conviction for breach of his status as a “foreign agent”. This defamatory and discriminatory term is widely used by the Kremlin to brand its opponents and publicly accuse them of wanting to destabilize the country by receiving funding from abroad. Ilya Yashin has never received money from abroad, but that matters little to the courts, which require him to announce his status every time he posts in his name on social media, even when they are made by relatives.
“A terrible shadow hangs over Vladimir Putin”
No surprises
From his prison, he speaks via videoconference, a rare opportunity to address Russians. He appears behind bars, smiling: “I refuse on principle to comply with the demands of the Ministry of Justice and do not recognize myself as a foreign agent, he pleads, highlighting the country’s Constitution. It still guarantees citizens fundamental rights and freedoms. This guarantees me, as an opposition politician, the right to criticize the authorities, freely express my opinion and disseminate information. There is not a word about foreign agents and restrictions on their rights in the constitution.“
In the room, the activists smile and take every opportunity to wave to the camera, to show their support for the opponent. A policeman ensures that no photos are taken. The only judge present leaves for a few seconds and returns, his decision made. The appeal is rejected. No surprise for these Russians who see their presence in court above all as a last way to oppose the power from which they no longer expect anything positive. No surprise either for the opponent, incarcerated for several days in solitary confinement. It was these regular solitary confinements that led to the death of Alexei Navalny. In the Russian colonies, the most influential opponents are being killed slowly.
Alexeï Navalny, the anti-Putin activist whom the Kremlin slowly killed (Portrait)
A Constitution that loses its meaning
The hearing over, the opponent has only a few seconds to speak to his relatives, the clerk hastens to turn off the television screen and cut the microphones. His parents, who never miss a hearing, are dejected, but dignified.How can he be a foreign agent when he has been in prison for almost two years? He doesn’t change his position, he always said he worked for Russia“, confides his mother. His father regrets that he no longer has access to the digital mail that certain prisons allow. He can only receive postal letters, which are only collected once a week, when they succeed. ‘test of censorship.’We are obviously worried, but we are not giving up. We are normally entitled to a meeting every three months, but in reality, it is rare that we are allowed to see him, the administration puts a lot of obstacles in our way.“, deplores the mother. The NGO Amnesty International denounced at the beginning of the week a “Russian authorities’ tactic to punish imprisoned anti-war critics and dissidents by denying them family contact“.
Ilya Yashin is defended by Mikhail Biryukov, Moscow’s top lawyer in dissident cases. While many lawyers have left the country for fear of prosecution and the outcome of political trials depends on the orders of the security services, he does not want to give up the fight.Unfortunately, all lawyers working on political trials today live in risk.“, he says. He deplores a politicized law: “My calls for respect for the Constitution are systematically limited by laws passed by Parliament. As a result, the Constitution has lost all its meaning as a document guaranteeing the implementation of rights and freedoms.“According to the NGO OVD Info, which provides assistance to political prisoners, more than 150 political trials take place every week in Russia.
