The news in context of del.icio.us...
Posted on: 13th August 2004
12th of August court case against Aleksei Cherepanov began in Sovetski district court of Krasnodar. Court began with questioning of 3 witnesses of the prosecution, two officers of Gosnarkokontrol and one
witness "from the street". To questions of judge and Aleksei's lawyer concerning details of Aleksei's arrest in Tramvainoe street 12th of May and illegal search in his room 19th of May, they answered "we do not remember", and referred to documentation of investigation, obviously in order not to tell conflicting versions. When defence asked why Aleksei was not present during search, one of the witnesses answered "I do not know"!
Gosnarkokontrol claims, that since room of Aleksei and Oksana is not their private property but rented, it is enough to ask permission of administration of the dormatory to trespass there!
Witnesses could not give any explanation, why besides drugs they confiscated "extremist" literature. When judge Vladimir Gavrilovich asked why one witness considered literature as extremist, he asked "that is my personal opinion".
FSB agents were not seen surveilling process, this may mean they have admitted their defeat in attempt to fabricate case against journal "Avtonom".
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We have are still collecting two petitions for Aleksei Cherepanov, one for individuals to sign,
other for groups and organisations. Signing group may as well be informal ones, as long as they
have all contact information. You may sign these petitions online at
http://anarchistblackcross.org.ru/ljosha/petition.php (for individuals)
and
http://anarchistblackcross.org.ru/ljosha/org_pet.php (for groups and organisations)
unfortunately form for signing is yet only available in Russian, we hope to have it
in English in few days. Below English translations of the petition, first petition for
individuals, then for organisations. We would be happy to receive translations of
petition to any languages!
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Appeal against the detention of Aleksei Cherepanov
On the 12th of May 2004, anti-fascist, anarchist and independent journalist Aleksei Cherepanov was arrested for 9 days by officers of Gosnarkokontrol in Krasnodar, Russia. One gram of marihuana had been planted on him and he was arrested for "refusal to follow orders by officers of Gosnarkokontrol". The rest of the drugs - 24 grams of marihuana and two grams of heroin were "found" in his apartment when officers broke in without a search warrant, and without the presence of the tenants or any witnesses (as required in Russian law). On the 24th of May, Cherepanov was arrested another time, and eventually transferred to remand prison of Krasnodar. He was accused of possession of drugs (statue 228, part one of the Russian Criminal Codex). Now this innocent man, who has never used drugs, is threated with a prison sentence up to 3 years.
In Krasnodar, persecution for ones conscience is already becoming a tradition. We are sure that
the case against Cherepanov is political. Gosnarkokontrol is fulfilling the orders of the FSB, which want to settle scores with activists. There is no other explanation for the big interest in the political activities of Cherepanov during interrogations and the confiscation of anarchist literature from his apartment.
We demand the urgent liberation of Aleksei Cherepanov, dismissal of the case against him and stopping the repression against anarchists in Krasnodar. All of us may be in the place of Cherepanov one day. If you want to help Aleksei and other people who may be politically repressed in the future, join our protest campaign! Sign this petition!
Surname:
First name:
E-mail:
Profession:
City:
Address:
Commentaries (for support group):
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Appeal of groups and organisations against the detention of Aleksei Cherepanov
We, representatives of groups and organisations are extremely concerned with the actions of the FSB of the Krasnodar area and Gosnarkokontrol of Krasnodar area in relation to journalist and anti-fascist Aleksei Cherepanov.
On the 12th of May 2004, anti-fascist, anarchist and independent journalist Aleksei Cherepanov was arrested for 9 days by officers of Gosnarkokontrol in Krasnodar, Russia. One gram of marihuana had been planted on him and he was arrested for "refusal to follow orders by officers of Gosnarkokontrol". The rest of the drugs - 24 grams of marihuana and two grams of heroin were "found" in his apartment when officers broke in without a search warrant, and without the presence of the tenants or any witnesses (as required in Russian law). On the 24th of May, Cherepanov was arrested another time, and eventually transferred to remand prison of Krasnodar. He was accused of possession of drugs (statue 228, part one of the Russian Criminal Codex). Now this innocent man, who has never used drugs, is threated with a prison sentence up to 3 years.
Officers of the Administration of Gosnarkokontrol in Krasnodar region have committed plenty of human rights violations, such as
-illegal search of an apartment
-illegal gathering of information about the private life of a person without his agreement
-illegal infringement of private life
-violation of the right to confidential mail and other correspondence.
This means, statues 25, 24 and 23 of the Constitution of Russian Federation have been violated, which is sanctioned by statues 139, 138 and 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Additionally, a number of violations were committed during the investigation.
The unfounded interest of the officers of Gosnarkokontrol in the role of Cherepanov in publishing anarchist literature, and confiscations during the search give reason to suspect the political nature of this apparently fabricated case.
We demand the urgent liberation of Aleksei Cherepanov, and restoration of his legal rights. We demand the prosecutor to investigate violations of the law committed during the investigation.
Organisation/group
Address
Phone/fax
E-mail/www
Person who has signed the petition