Global action day 2.0

We Demand that the Russian Authorities Close the Khimki Case and Drop All
Charges against Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov

In late October 2010, Russian social activists Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim
Solopov were released from police custody on their own recognizance by the
Khimki Municipal Court. They had been arrested a day after a protest in
defense of the Khimki Forest on July 28, 2010. Now they are free pending
trial, but the criminal case against them has not been closed. They have
been formally charged with disorderly conduct, and if convicted, they could
be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. The dates of their trials have
not been set, but meanwhile prosecutors are demanding that Alexei and Maxim
be returned to police custody. Aside from Alexei and Maxim, there are two
other people who have been charged in the case, and prosecutors might bring
charges against even more people in the very new future. Since Alexei and
Maxim were arrested in late July, police investigators have been stubbornly
fabricating arrest protocols, evidence, and eyewitness testimony and using
force to extract statements from the hundreds of people they have hunted
down and detained. What will happen to all these thick case files filled
with fabrications? They will form the basis of the prosecution’s case in
court. And so the fact that Alexei and Maxim have now been released from
jail is not the end of the battle but a signal that we must continue to act
decisively on their behalf. We will not allow the authorities to cover up
the illegal destruction of the forest and the persecution of its defenders
with the soiled robes of counterfeit justice. We will force the authorities
to close the Khimki Case and drop charges against all activists!

Why do the Russian authorities insist on turning activists into criminals
and demanding prison sentences for them? For the same reason that they have
either not launched or halted investigations into the near-fatal beating of
journalist Mikhail Beketov, the murder of newspaper worker Sergei
Protazanov, and the numerous attacks on Khimki residents. The policemen who
beat up environmentalists defending the forest and arrested people
participating in legal pickets have not been punished. The police
investigators who tortured witnesses in the Khimki Case have not been
punished. Can we expect fair trials for Alexei and Maxim when we have
witnessed lawlessness and injustice so many times? Khimki judges have on
numerous occasions shown all of us that we cannot count on their respect for
the law and common sense. We demand that the case be closed!

The protest action that took place in Khimki on July 28, 2010, was a
response to the lawlessness and violence perpetrated against local
residents, journalists, and activists. It was a highly emotional response to
the fact that all previous protests had not just been ignored by the
authorities but had been cruelly suppressed. As a result of this protest,
the Russian authorities began heeding the voice of the forest’s defenders.
The campaign to defend the forest caught this gust of hot July wind and
continued to act using other means. The authorities must end their
persecution of the people who took part in this protest and the forest
defenders. All charges against Alexei Gaskarov, Maxim Solopov, and other
activists must be dropped.

What You Can Do

1. During the international days of action on November 12–15, 2010, hold
eye-catching protest actions in your cities at official political and
cultural events organized by the Russian authorities as well as outside
Russian Federation embassies and consulates. Demand to meet with official
Russian representatives and give them your petitions. Any Russian company,
product or event can be a successful occasion for your protests.

2. Send faxes to the Khimki Municipal Court (+7-495-572-8314), the Moscow
Region Prosecutor’s Office (+7-495-621-5006) and the President of the
Russian Federation (+7-495-606-2464), demanding that the case be closed and
all charges against Alexei Gaskarov, Maxim Solopov, and other activists
dropped.

3. Continue to send letters to such international organizations as the
Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the UN, asking them to
investigate the abuses by Russian authorities and intervene in the case. You
can find contact information for these organizations here.

4. Work to get articles published in your local and national media that will
inform the broader public about the case of the Khimki hostages and the new
threats to civil liberties and the rule of law in Russia. Invite neighbors,
friends, and colleagues to your solidarity actions in support of Alexei and
Maxim, and ask them to join you in demanding that this fabricated criminal
case be closed.

Send information about your solidarity actions as well as copies of letters,
faxes, and media publications to our e-mail address: info khimkibattle.org

More information at www.khimkibattle.org