Russia's only independent election supervisor was sentenced to five years in prison
Russia's only independent election supervisor was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday for being guilty of working with “unpopular organizations.”
Golos movement co-chair Grigory Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023. He pleaded not guilty to the trial.
Human rights activists say the case against the 44-year-old is part of a wider crackdown on civil society, which has been intensified since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mediazona said Melkonyants called on supporters in the court and urged them not to be frustrated by the verdict.
Golos, in Russian, means “vote” and “vote”, first angered the authorities by promoting what it says by the evidence that the fraud said in the 2011 parliamentary elections led to opposition protests, and then in the presidential vote, returned Vladimir Putin to the 2012 Kremlin.
The allegations against Melkonyants are based on his alleged involvement in the Montenegro-based network of European election monitoring organizations that link regulators in former communist countries in Europe and Central Asia. Enemo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Golos said it has not interacted with Enemo since Russia banned the latter in 2021.
“This ridiculous situation [against Melkonyants] Stanislav Andreichuk told Reuters that it is a simple explanation not only for foreigners, but for ourselves.
Despite being designated as a “foreign agent”, Golos continued to work in Russia.
“Even if things get harder, we're still doing our jobs.”
Last year, Golos described the 2024 election, which returned to Putin, with more than 88% of the vote being the most deceptive and corrupt in the country's history.
The Kremlin said the results show that the Russian people “merge” around Putin and that the Western attempt to portray elections as illegal is ridiculous.
Andreichuk said Melkonyant's trial should be important to the outside world because Golos's work is part of the struggle for democracy.
“In Russia, a true democratic country will not be a military threat. However, an authoritarian government will continue to threaten its neighbors,” he said.
Rights group OVD-INFO said that now more than 1,600 people are being imprisoned in Russia on political grounds. The Kremlin said it does not comment on individual cases, but Russia needs to uphold its laws and protect itself from subversive activities.
