Network (Russia)
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“Network” («Сеть») allegedly was an anti-government anarchist organization active in Russia in 2015–2017. Its members were arrested in 2017 and sentenced on February 10, 2020 by the Russian military court in Penza to prison terms from six to 18 years.
- Dmitri Pchelintsev — sentenced to 18 years in maximum security prison.
- Ilya Shakursky — sentenced to 16 years in maximum security prison and a fine of 50 thousand of roubles (about $700).
- Andrew Chernov — sentenced to 14 years in maximum security prison.
- Maxim Ivankin — sentenced to 13 years in maximum security prison.
- Mikhail Kulkov — sentenced to 10 years in maximum security prison.
- Vasiliy Kuksov — sentenced to nine years in prison.
- Arman Sagynbaev — sentenced to six years in prison.
According to Amnesty International's representative, the organization itself had never existed;[1] earlier Amnesty International expressed concern about tortures and other ill-treatment used by FSB to extract confessions from the defendants.[2]
Memorial Society from Moscow also claimed that the whole case was fabricated and politically motivated, and designated the accused as political prisoners.[3]
The case of “Network” caused the wide protest movement in Russia.[4] Andrei Kolesnikov from the Carnegie Moscow Center went on to label the story of the “Network” as “the return of Stalinist Show Trials”.[5]
References
- ^ Russia: Prosecution for membership of a non-existent “terrorist” organization must stop, Amnesty International, 7.02.2020.
- ^ Russian Federation: The Network Case, Shrouded In Secrecy And Marred By Numerous Torture Allegations, Amnesty International, 24.12.2018.
- ^ They were Russian vegans, environmentalists, antifascists and airsoft players. Then they were accused of terrorism., The Washington Post, 10.02.2020.
- ^ «Решение по делу „Сети“ — самый настоящий акт террора», Знак, 18.02.2020. (In Russian)
- ^ The Return of Stalinist Show Trials, The Moscow Times, 11.02.2020.
Further reading
- Russia Sentences Anti-Fascists on Bogus Terror Charges, Critics Say, The New York Times, Feb. 10, 2020.
- Russian antifascist group given 'monstrous' jail terms, The Guardian, Feb. 10, 2020.