Release of the press committee of russian protest movement about Sergey Udaltsov:
“Moscow, Russia, December 26 — Sergey Udaltsov, the leader of the legally prohibited Left Front peaceful opposition movement, who was supposed to be released from jail on December 25, received an additional 10-day sentence instead, in a process widely believed to be politically motivated. In the most exciting moment of the trial, his lawyer Nikolai Polozov tore out some documents from Udaltsov’s court file, and, with court officers in hot pursuit, handed them over to the opposition Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomarev. Invoking his legislative immunity, Ponomarev refused to hand the documents over to the court officers. The recording of the incident was broadcast by Life News network, made infamous in recent days for broadcasting the illegally wiretapped cell phone conversations of Boris Nemtsov, another opposition politician.[1] Justice of Peace Olga Borovkova, who had judged several processes dealing with opposition leaders, including Udaltsov, in the past, presided over the case.
“I would have handed the documents over, had Judge Borovkova demanded,” explained Ponomarev. “But they were full of irregularities. The pages were not numbered, and you could not tell from the file’s table of contents whether they even belonged.” Udaltsov was arrested on December 4, the day of the Russian parliamentary elections. Initially sentenced to five days in jail, Udaltsov announced a hunger strike and was taken to a hospital for medical observation. His sentence was extended after he failed to follow protocol when leaving the hospital. Udaltsov was later denied medical care until being delivered to the hospital in critical condition on December 18.
During Sunday´s process, journalists, the public, and some witnesses were not allowed in the courtroom. These kinds of irregularities were pervasive since his December 4 illegal arrest by plainclothes officers, and throughout his detainment and latest trial. Although Udaltsov again declared a hunger strike after receiving the latest sentence, he felt ill again and left the court in an ambulance. Udaltsov is currently in the hospital and is eating by doctors´ orders.
A rally will be held this Thursday, December 29 at 6 pm at Pushkinskaya square to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners including Udaltsov. At time of writing, this rally attracted over 1,500 on Facebook[3]. A permit application for the rally has been submitted, but it is not expected to be approved. A similar prohibited rally against rigged elections on December 6th resulted in nearly 300 arrests.
The Volunteer Press Center is one of the independent grassroots organizations founded after the December 4 parliamentary elections and has helped organize and publicize the protest rallies and associated events. Not directly affiliated with the career politicians who set the agenda for the December 10 and December 24 protests in Moscow, we are committed to providing a balanced coverage of events.”
For past press releases and other information, be sure to visit our website at www.24dec.ru (The site is currently available in Russian only).
Also, please see our background information sheet about the rigged election, athttps://docs.google.com/document/d/15I1w8LJ7f1pRd9OHh4IcJWWDMKGN4msmVVLtscNWU6w/edit
[1] http://lifenews.ru/news/78019
[2] http://www.newsru.com/russia/26dec2011/udaltsov2.html
[3] http://www.facebook.com/events/225408317535040
