Memorial Human Rights Centre demands Alexey Pichugin’s release

July 16, 2021

Memorial International Human Rights Centre demands the Russian authorities fulfill their international obligations and release Alexey Pichugin as soon as possible.

Memorial Human Rights Centre’s statement:

It was recently learned that Russia’s longest-serving political prisoner Alexey Pichugin has been transported to Moscow’s Lefortovo investigative detention facility from the Black Dolphin prison camp where he was serving an illegally imposed life sentence.

Alexey Pichugin has been behind bars for over 18 years, starting in June 2003. Memorial Human Rights Centre considers him a political prisoner: we are certain Pichugin became a hostage of the Kremlin’s repressive campaign against Yukos and is being subjected to cruel persecution for refusing to perjure himself and bear false witness against others.

Twice, in 2012 and 2017, the European Court of Human Rights found numerous violations of the right to a fair trial during both trials that resulted in Pichugin’s conviction. However, the RF Supreme Court refused to re-examine those verdicts.

The Committee of Ministers (CM) of the Council of Europe which oversees the implementation of ECHR’s judgments stated numerous times that the ECHR judgments issued on Pichugin’s applications were not implemented. For example, in December 2019, CM called on Russia to “examine the issue of taking measures to release him (Pichugin), and in this context once again noted the possibility of a pardon.” In May 2020, Memorial Human Rights Centre pointed out to the CM that Russia has not implemented the Strasbourg court’s judgments in Pichugin’s case. In 2020 and 2021, CM once again demanded that the Russian authorities release Pichugin. In November 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions called for Pichugin’s “immediate release.” However, Pichugin was denied pardon numerous times.

Pichugin has currently terminated the services of his lawyers who represented him for many years. We believe he may have been pressured to do so. However, members of Moscow’s Monitoring Commission were not allowed to see Pichugin under a made-up pretext, and so it’s unknown why Alexey terminated his lawyer’s services, how he is feeling, etc.

We call on the Russian and international community to draw attention to what’s happening with Alexey Pichugin – a political prisoner almost forgotten over the 18 years.

We once again demand the Russian authorities fulfill their international obligations and release Pichugin as soon as possible.

Members of the Public Monitoring Commission must be allowed to see Pichugin without delay.

Source: Memorial’s official website