"MEMORIAL"
RECOGNIZES
YAKUT SHAMAN ALEXANDER GABYSHEV AS POLITICAL PRISONER
Website
of Memorial
Human
Rights Center, 25 June 2020
The
Memorial Human
Rights Center considers Alexander Gabyshev to be a political
prisoner,
according to the international leadership, based on the
definition of this
concept. The denial of liberty has been applied to him
exclusively because of
his political and religious convictions, in addition to his
nonviolent exercise
of freedom of movement, expression of opinion, peaceful
assemblies, conscience,
and religion. We urge his immediate and unconditional release
and complete
rehabilitation and compensation for damages.
Who
is Alexander
Gabyshev and of what is he suspected?
The
hereditary shaman
from Yakutsk, Alexander Gabyshev, undertook three journeys by
foot to Moscow
and he was planning a fourth, in order to conduct there a ritual
of exorcism of
the "demon" Vladimir Putin.
On 12
September 2019,
a criminal case was opened against Gabyshev for public calls for
extremist
activity (part 1 of article 280 of the CC RF). This is how the
investigation
views Gabyshev's statements on YouTube videos about the journey
to Moscow taken
on 6 to 22 May 2019. According to his attorneys, the
investigation deliberately
took Gabyshev's words out of context. Despite the fact that the
case was opened
back in September of last year, the shaman has still not been
charged.
On 12
May 2020, under
the pretext of testing for coronavirus, Gabyshev was isolated in
a Yakutsk
republican psychoneurological dispensary. On 2 June, by decision
of the Yakutsk
city court, he was kept there for involuntary hospitalization
allegedly because
of severe psychiatric disorder.
Why
does Memorial
consider him a political prisoner?
Just as
soon as
Gabyshev became known, authorities began interfering with his
exercise of his
rights. The criminal case was opened after a rally in his
support by members of
his entourage, and the hospitalization was conducted after his
declaration of
the start of a new journey.
Physicians
and
representatives of the government speak about Gabyshev's
hospitalization in
political terms, clearly linking it to the growing popularity
and public
influence of the shaman.
Not one
of the
reasons established by law for compulsory hospitalization has
been convincingly
proven. The circumstances of hospitalization and the medical
examination
testify to the absence of such reasons. The court that made the
decision
regarding involuntary hospitalization of Gabyshev also did not
examine the
situation completely and objectively.
The
inability of the
investigation to indict Gabyshev in a criminal case within nine
months
testifies in favor of his innocence. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 June
2020)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.