NOT JAIL, BUT NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR FORMER HEAD OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 004114 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM RS SUBJECT: NOT JAIL, BUT NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR FORMER HEAD OF RUSSIAN-CHECHEN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY REF: MOSCOW 0276 Classified By: PolCouns Alice G. Wells for reason 1.4(b and d). ¶1. (C) Summary. A Nizhniy Novgorod district court on August 17 did not jail former Russian-Chechen Friendship Society head Stanislav Dmitrievskiy for his participation in the April Dissenter's March, but instead placed new restrictions on his parole conditions. Under the new restrictions, Dmitrievskiy will face a new hearing and possible imprisonment if he violates even administrative law more than once during a twelve-month period. Embassy will reiterate concern about the government's treatment of Dmitrievskiy. END SUMMARY -------------- New Conditions on an Old Sentence -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On August 17, a Nizhniy Novgorod district court placed new conditions on the suspended sentence of Stanislav Dmitrievskiy, the former head of the banned Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. The court did not revoke his suspended sentence and send him to jail, but the new conditions state that if he violates even administrative law more than once during a 12-month period, the court could re-open his case and revoke his suspended sentence. ¶3. (SBU) In February 2006, Dmitrievskiy was given a two-year suspended sentence plus four years of probation for "inciting inter-ethnic hatred using mass media" by publishing speeches in 2004 by rebel Chechen leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Akhmed Zakaev. He has appealed this conviction to the European Court for Human Rights. According to press reporting, the prosecutor requested a review of his sentence because of his role in organizing and participating in the April "Dissenters' March" in Nizhniy Novgorod, which the authorities considered illegal because it took place without a government permit. ¶4. (SBU) Dmitrievekiy's supporters fear that the authorities could use any minor infractions, such as jay-walking or future participation in unauthorized political demonstrations, as a reason to put him behind bars. However, according to a Western diplomat who attended the hearing, his suspended sentence would not be automatically revoked, but would require a new hearing to decide if he had violated these new restrictions and what, if any, steps to take. -------------- Defiant Dmitrievskiy Appealing to the ECHR -------------- ¶5. (SBU) According to Oksana Chelysheva, his colleague at RCFS, Dmitrievskiy argued at the hearing that the court was using the legal system to constrain his political freedoms, and contended that the new restrictions did not comport with the purposes of the criminal code. He was reportedly defiant and warned the court that these new restrictions would not deter him from participating in political action. ¶6. (SBU) On August 20, Dmitrievskiy expressed to us strong doubts that the appeal of his most recent ruling will receive a fair hearing in the Russian courts. He claimed that the judge ignored points in his defense and reached a pre-ordained decision. Chelysheva told us that the judge failed to explain the grounds for his ruling -- an omission that Dmitrievskiy claims violates Article Six of the European Convention. As such, he believes the ruling will actually strengthen his appeal of his original sentence before the European Court, even as it increases his short-term risk of imprisonment. ¶7. (C) Comment: Dmitrievskiy sounds resolute in defense of his position, if pessimistic about his prospects in court, and has not been cowed by the threat of time behind bars. He and his defense team worked to draw public scrutiny of his case, in part by inviting journalists as observers and by holding a press conference after the hearing. We will follow this case closely and raise the issue of Dmitrievskiy's treatment with the appropriate GOR authorities. Melville