Prosecutors want a Russian historian imprisoned for nine years, despite a public uproar

Prosecutors in Petrozavodsk asked a local court to sentence historian Yuri Dmitriev, the head of the Karelian branch of the human rights group “Memorial,” to nine years in prison. In late January, a court declined to extend Dmitriev’s arrest (after he’d already spent 13 months in jail).

In December 2016, police arrested Dmitriev on suspicion of creating child pornography by photographing his adopted daughter.

Dmitriev says the pictures were non-sexualized and intended purely to track the child’s health. The group Memorial and several prominent public cultural figures have defended him, saying the allegations are fabricated. As part of the investigation, Dmitriev was subjected to psychological analysis, and doctors found that he isn’t prone to any deviant sexual behavior.

Yuri Dmitriev is responsible for locating several mass graves in Karelia from the 1930s.