URGENT ACTION

JAILED ACTIVIST TRANSFERRED TO MOSCOW
On 17 November a court upheld on appeal the pretrial detention of activist Lilia Chanysheva, and she was transferred out of her hometown of Ufa on 21 November. She will be held in Moscow, almost 1,500 km away. Lilia Chanysheva has been detained since 9 November on politically motivated charges of “establishing or leading an extremist association”, for her role as former regional coordinator of “Navalny’s headquarters”. She faces up to 10 years in prison. Lilia Chanysheva has committed no crime and must be released immediately.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
Igor Viktorovich Krasnov
Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 15A
Moscow, GSP-3, 125993
Russian Federation
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Dear Prosecutor General,

I am deeply concerned about the arbitrary detention of activist Lilia Chanysheva, who has been transferred from her hometown of Ufa to pretrial detention in Moscow, following her arrest on 9 November on charges of “establishing or leading an extremist association”. 

Lilia Chanysheva is being prosecuted because of her role as former regional coordinator of “Navalny’s headquarters” in Ufa, where she essentially conducted peaceful social and political activities which cannot be considered as “extremism”.

Lilia Chanysheva has committed no internationally recognizable crime and is just another victim of the authorities’ crackdown on Aleksei Navalny’s associates and supporters. Her prosecution is unfounded and politically motivated and violates her rights to freedom of expression and association.

In the light of the above, I urge you to take all the necessary steps to ensure that Lilia Chanysheva is released immediately and that all charges against her are dropped.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

Lilia Chanysheva, a former regional coordinator of “Navalny’s headquarters” in Ufa, Bashkortostan (central Russia), was arrested on 9 November, following a search at her home. On the same day, the police searched the homes of other activists in Ufa and other Russian cities as part of a criminal case against Aleksei Navalny and his associates. 

On 10 November, the Kirovsky District Court of Ufa, put Lilia Chanysheva in pretrial detention for two months. The court took this decision despite Lilia Chanysheva’s plea that she could be at the early stages of pregnancy. She was accused of “establishing or leading an extremist association” (Art. 282.1(1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) in connection with her past work with Aleksei Navalny. If convicted, Lilia Chanysheva could face up to 10 years imprisonment. On 17 November the court upheld the decision to keep Lilia Chanysheva in pretrial detention. She was transferred from Ufa on 21 November. It is expected that she will be held in a detention centre in Moscow, almost 1,500 km away from her hometown.

On 9 June, the Moscow City Court arbitrarily banned as “extremist” three civil society organizations, namely the AntiCorruption Foundation, the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation and “Navalny’s headquarters”, all of them linked to Aleksei Navalny. The court hearing was closed to the media and the general public, and the grounds for the designation have not been made public. 

On 28 September, the Russian authorities announced a new criminal investigation against Aleksei Navalny and his associates on unfounded charges of “establishment of an extremist association”. In October, it transpired that this investigation was joined with four other criminal cases against Aleksei Navalny, his colleagues and supporters. Lilia Chanysheva is the first of Navalny’s associates to be arrested under this criminal case. 

Aleksei Navalny, leading Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption campaigner, was sentenced on 2 February 2021 to two years and eight months for “violation of probation terms” of a previous politically motivated sentence. Russian authorities have refused to release him despite mass protests and multiple decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. Aleksei Navalny is a prisoner of conscience and must be freed immediately and unconditionally.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Russian, English.
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 11 January 2022
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PRONOUN: Lilia Chanysheva (she/her)

LINK TO PREVIOUS UA: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur46/4987/2021/en/

Additional TARGETS

His Excellency Mr Andrei Kelin
Embassy of the Russian Federation
6/7 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QP
0207 229 6412
Fax 0207 727 8625 
kanc@rusemb.org.uk
www.rusemb.org.uk