Human rights group says jailed Russian journalist is a political prisoner

The human rights center Memorial has declared jailed Russian journalist Alexander Sokolov to be a political prisoner. Sokolov, who works for the independent news agency RBC, is suspected of being involved in the activities of the People's Will Army, which is outlawed in Russia as an extremist group.

Memorial has granted the same status to two men arrested with Sokolov: publicist and former newspaper editor Yuri Mukhin and energy company administrator Valery Parfenov.

According to Memorial, the charges against Sokolov, Mukhin, and Parfenov were filed illegally. The men are accused of continuing the activities of the People's Will Army after a court banned it in 2010. Sokolov and his colleagues founded another organization called ZOV, but police never formally established that ZOV continues their previous group's criminal activity, making their current arrest unlawful, the human rights organization says.

Memorial is demanding the immediate release of all three men, and that police close the case against them.

We believe that Mukhin, Parfenov, and Sokolov are being prosecuted and imprisoned solely because of their political beliefs and because of their non-violent exercise of the freedom of thought, free expression, and peaceful assembly and association, which are guaranteed by international treaties signed by the Russian Federation.

Sokolov, Mukhin, and Parfenov were detained on July 28, 2015. Later, Mukhin was placed under house arrest, while Sokolov and Parfenov remain in jail.

In 2009, Yuri Mukhin, the head of the organization, received a two-year suspended sentence for “calling for extremist activity.” Mukhin is a Stalinist and a conspiracy theorist. In the past, he has praised Stalin-era political repressions, and has claimed that German soldiers were responsible for the Katyn massacre in Poland during World War II. He has also claimed that the United States faked the moon landing, and blamed the CIA for organizing the 9/11 attacks.

After the organization “People’s Will Army” was branded as an extremist group, it became a public movement propagating the idea of a referendum “on responsible power.” Members of the organization wanted to evaluate the actions of those in power using a plebiscite.

According to the website OVD-Info, which monitors police repression in Russia, Sokolov is suspected of heading the organization’s propaganda activities, while Parfenov was allegedly recruiting new members and conducting fundraising activities.