About the visit of Russian prisoners of war in Kiev
Yesterday, June 3, 2015, in Kiev ended a four-day conference “Dialogue of Russian human rights activists and Ukraine in the name of peace and human rights.”
During the conference, I, as a Development Council member of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the head of the Ukrainian human rights organization “Center for Civil Liberties” Alexander Matveichuk were given the opportunity to visit the Russian citizens – Sergeant Aleksandra Aleksandrova and Captain Evgeniya Erofeeva, detained on the territory of Ukraine on May 16 and were at the time of our visit (the first of June) in Kiev, in the Main clinical hospital Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Permission to visit was obtained through the efforts of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights of Ukraine Valery Lutkovska, for what I want to express her great appreciation.
The first thing I want to note the results of a visit – it is a condition in which there were Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeni Yerofeyev. It’s quite good condition, each – a private room in the hospital, clean and bright. They are receiving medical treatment, Alexandrov at the hospital carried out a unique operation. According to doctors, they have managed to prevent amputation Alexandrov.
Complaints about conditions of detention, to food, to medical care, nor Yerofeyev, nor Alexander are not expressed. Strongly confirmed they are cases of torture, or of any physical impact on them after his arrest. Depressed Yerofeyev and Alexander did not look, stayed with dignity.
Yerofeyev and Alexandria since the captivity are unable to contact his family, all of them well-known phones of relatives blocked or do not respond. They are worried about their relatives and requested assistance in establishing contacts with relatives.
Ukrainian authorities brought Yerofeyev and Alexandrov charges of terrorism. According to the law of Ukraine on free legal aid, the Bar Association of Kiev they provided lawyers, speaking in Russian. With the lawyers they have already begun to work, and Yerofeyev and Alexandrov said that the lawyers they are quite satisfied.
Against them an article (part 3 of article 285 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) as the maximum measure provides for a life sentence. According to the lawyer, they will seek re-qualification of the article on the article “spying” (article 114, from 10 to 15 years in prison), but it is only if we can prove that Yerofeyev, and Alexandria are active Russian Armed forces.
Themselves detained during the conversation confirmed that they were to capture soldiers of the Russian army, one of the orders of dismissal are not familiar with, the terms of contracts they had not yet ended.
So far, the Russian government has not officially responded to the lawyers requests, transmitted by the Russian consul, which contained a request to confirm the identity and status of the accused. Since during the arrest they have no documents were found, the first and last names, and what they are, it is known only from the words of the accused.
As Chairman of the Standing Commission on Civil-Military Relations HRC take the case to protect the rights Yerofeyev and Alexandrov control.
Sergey Krivenko, Moscow, June 4, 2015
Sergey Krivenko, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Chairman of the Standing Commission of the HRC on civil-military relations, the director of the Judicial Group “Citizen. Army. Right “, a member of the Moscow Helsinki Group
Sourse, 04/06/2015
