On 13 May 2010, human rights defender Mr Aleksei Sokolov was sentenced to five years and two months in prison on charges of theft and robbery. Aleksei Sokolov is the founder and chairman of Pravovaja Osnova (Legal Foundation), an organisation which defends prisoners’ rights.

Further Information

Throughout his career he has repeatedly denounced the use of torture by the Russian police. Front Line previously issued urgent appeals relating to charges, attacks and intimidation against Aleksei Sokolov on 7 August 2009 and 21 January 2010.

On 13 May 2010, the court in Bogdanovich, in the Sverdlovsk region, sentenced Aleksei Sokolov to five years and two months imprisonment in a high-security prison colony on charges of theft and robbery under the Articles 158 part 3 and 161 part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Aleksei Sokolov was originally arrested on 13 May 2009 in relation to a 2004 robbery at the “UralTermoSvar” industrial base in which welding equipment and a cable were stolen. The following day, the Verkh-Isetsky Court in Yekaterinburg authorised Alexei Sokolov’s detention for 10 days. However, he was subsequently held in detention until 31 July 2009, when the Sverdlovsk regional court ruled to overturn the decision to remand him in custody. Despite that decision, he was not released as new charges of robbery were filed on the same day as the Sverdlovsk regional court ruling, concerning the theft of a safe containing two million roubles from a Yekaterinburg business in 2004. Furthermore, upon being transferred from the pre-trial facility in Kamyshov to the prison in Sukhoy Log in January 2010, Aleksei Sokolov was threatened and attacked by two fellow prisoners, including Evgeny Beliash, one of the convicts who had named Alexei Sokolov as an accomplice in the crime for which they were both subsequently charged.

Serious concerns have been raised about the conduct of the trial and validity of the evidence against Aleksei Sokolov; decisive weight was reportedly given to evidence provided by co-defendants who were already serving prison sentences for other crimes. On 18 May 2010, MEP Heidi Hautala, Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, issued a press release expressing her concern over the validity of the evidence provided, the failure to take into account testimonies in support of Aleksei Sokolov, and violations of the criminal procedure at the pre-trial stage. MEP Hautala also called on the authorities in the Russian Federation to ensure that Aleksei Sokolov is guaranteed a fair trial according to international standards, and guarantee that the violations in the criminal procedure at pre-trial stage and conduct of the trial of Aleksei Sokolov shall be rigorously and thoroughly examined at the appeal proceedings.

Front Line believes that the sentencing of Aleksei Sokolov is directly related to his work in the defence of human rights, in particular with regard to prisoners' rights and protection from torture. Front Line sees this as part of a pattern of ongoing harassment against Aleksei Sokolov. Furthermore, given the history of violence against Aleksei Sokolov whilst in detention, Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Aleksei Sokolov in detention.