Anastasia Nukzarievna Shevchenko (Russian: Анастасия Нукзариевна Шевченко; born 23 October 1979)[1] is a Russian public figure and civil activist. She is the first person in Russia to have a criminal case brought against her on charges of participating in an "undesirable" organisation under Russian Federation law.[2][3][4][5] She was recognised as a political prisoner and a prisoner of conscience.[1][6]

On 18 February 2021 Shevchenko was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of 4 years of imprisonment[7][8](later it was reduced to 3 years[9]). In August 2022 Shevchenko informed that she had left Russia and moved to Vilnius.[10] After that she was declared a fugitive for "evading the punishment".[11]

Biography

Anastasia Shevchenko's father, Nugzari Sukhitashvili, served in the military and her mother, Tamara Gryaznova, taught Russian language and literature. Shevchenko was born in the village of Dzhida in the Dzhidinsky district of Buryatia.[12] She met her future husband, Alexander Shevchenko in Jida and graduated from the Irkutsk State Linguistic University with the highest award. She and her family moved to the village of Egorlykskaya in the Rostov region after her eldest daughter, Alina, was born. Her second daughter, Vlada, and son, Misha, were born there. Shevchenko started to work for the local news as a journalist and was a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for some time. On 5 November 2010, during the massacre in the village of Kuschevskaya, Shevchenko's friend Vladimir Mironenko and his family were brutally murdered. After her son was born, Shevchenko left with her husband and got involved in civil activism.[13]

Over the years, Shevchenko worked as the head of the television broadcasting department for MUP RT Zarya and as the senior inspector of the organisational and territorial division of the Election Commission for the Rostov region.[14]

From 2017 to February 2018, she was the coordinator of the Rostov branch of the Open Russia Movement.[14][15] During the presidential elections in 2018, Anastasia Shevchenko headed the regional headquarters of Ksenia Sobchak's campaign and headed the regional branch of the Civil Initiative Party.[16][17][18] Shevchenko was elected to the Federal Council of the Open Russia Movement at the Movement's annual conference on 25 March 2018.[19] In January 2018, Anastasia Shevchenko was detained for putting up election ads in support of Sobchak.[20]

In June 2018, she became one of the authors and activists campaigning against the pension reform which was entitled "They’ve stolen everything but our underpants".[21][22][23]

Criminal case

On 26 April 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia recognized the following organisations as "undesirable": Open Russia, the Open Russia Civic Movement (registered in the UK), the Institute of Modern Russia (headed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky's son Pavel in the US). According to the authorities, all three organizations were involved in the implementation of "special programs and projects aimed at discrediting the results of the Russian elections, at seeing the results thereof recognised illegitimate" and "encouraging protest speeches and destabilizing the domestic political situation, which poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional structure of the Russian Federation and the security of the state".[24] In May of the same year, the Russian Ministry of Justice told reporters at a press briefing that the work of the Russian Open Russia Movement will not be conflated with the work of the British organisations that had been recognised as "undesirable".[25]

In January 2019, the authorities conducted searches against Open Russia activists in Pskov, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, and Ulyanovsk.[26][27] On 21 January they searched Anastasia Shevchenko's house.[28][29] She was detained shortly afterwards. Shevchenko was kept in a pre-trial detention facility for 48 hours until her court hearing. On 23 January she was placed under house arrest by the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don.[30][31] On 29 January, the Rostov Regional Court upheld the lower court's decision to place her under house arrest.[32]

On 31 January, Shevchenko's eldest daughter, Alina, died in Zverev City Hospital. She was taken into the intensive care unit two days earlier and the investigator only allowed Shevchenko to visit her a few hours before she passed away.[33] On 1 February, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to President Vladimir Putin, expressed his condolences at the death of Shevchenko's daughter.[34][35] On 24 January Human Rights Watch condemned persecution of Shevchenko and violation of her right to freedom of expression and association.[36] On 25 January Memorial recognized Shevchenko as a prisoner of conscience.[1] On 7 February, members of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) and a number of human rights defenders came out in support of Anastasia Shevchenko and Vyacheslav Egorov.[37] On the same day, the US Mission to the OSCE expressed concerns over her prosecution.[38] On 8 February, the Memorial Human Rights Center, Russia's oldest human rights organization, recognized Anastasia Shevchenko as a victim of political persecution and a political prisoner.[39][40][41] On 21 February, 12 human rights organisations signed a statement calling for the release of Anastasia Shevchenko as well as other political prisoners in Russia.[42] Two US senators also published a statement condemning the Kremlin's persecution of Anastasia Shevchenko.[43]

On 15 March, the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don extended Shevchenko's house arrest until 17 June 2019.[44][45][46] The court also rejected the appeals made by Shevchenko's defense to soften the terms of her house arrest.[47]

On 18 February 2021 Shevchenko was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of 4 years of imprisonment[48][49](later it was reduced to 3 years[50]).

Emigration

In August 2022 Shevchenko informed that she had left Russia and moved to Vilnius.[51] After that she was declared a fugitive for "evading the punishment".[52]

Rallies in support of Shevchenko

On 1 February 2019, protests began in support of Anastasia Shevchenko. The first demonstration took place in Rostov-on-Don.[53] On 10 February a series of rallies in support of Shevchenko took place under the banner "Mothers' Fury" in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo and Tambov and protestors in Moscow and St Petersburg were arrested.[54][55][56][57] On 24 February, during a march in Moscow in memory of Boris Nemtsov a separate column developed that demanded an end to the criminal prosecution of civil and political activists, including Anastasia Shevchenko.[58]

On 31 March 2019, the Open Russia Conference put out a statement demanding an end to the criminal prosecution of Anastasia Shevchenko.[59] On the same day, the Movement announced its liquidation to protect its activists from criminal prosecution.[60]

References

  1. 1 2 3 ""Мемориал» признал активистку «Открытой России» Анастасию Шевченко политической заключенной - Правозащитный центр «Мемориал"". memohrc.org. 8 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "В России впервые возбудили уголовное дело о деятельности нежелательной организации. К активистам «Открытой России» пришли с обысками". www.fontanka.ru. 21 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Первое в России дело о нежелательной организации возбуждено в Ростове". www.rostov.aif.ru. 21 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Первая нежелательная. Активистке "Открытой России" грозит до шести лет колонии". Настоящее Время.
  5. ↑ "Активистку "Открытой России" арестовали. Впервые за "нежелательную организацию"". BBC News Русская Служба. 23 January 2019.
  6. ↑ амнистия, Amnesty International-Эмнести Интернэшнл- Международная (25 January 2019). "Amnesty International признала Анастасию Шевченко узницей совести". Amnesty International - Международная амнистия. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Суд назначил условный срок по первому делу о нежелательной организации". РБК (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Суд в Ростове-на-Дону назначил члену «Открытой России» Анастасии Шевченко четыре года условно по делу о «нежелательной организации»". Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ростовской активистке Шевченко смягчили приговор". 161.ru - новости Ростова-на-Дону (in Russian). 10 August 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Бывшая активистка «Открытой России» Анастасия Шевченко уехала из страны
  11. ↑ "МВД объявило в розыск осужденную по делу о «нежелательной организации» Анастасию Шевченко". ОВД-News (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "В Ростове-на-Дону похоронили дочь активистки «Открытой России» из Бурятии". www.infpol.ru.
  13. ↑ "«Ей пришлось самой встать впереди всех». Ростовское дело Анастасии Шевченко". mbk.news. 4 February 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Штаб Ксении Собчак в Ростове возглавит известная общественница". www.rostov.aif.ru. 17 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Координатор «Открытой России» в Ростове оставила пост из-за сторонников Навального". www.donnews.ru.
  16. ↑ "«Делаю это с радостью»: в Ростове выбрали руководителя предвыборного штаба Собчак". 161.ru. 17 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Без шума и креатива". 2 March 2018 – via Kommersant.
  18. ↑ "От незаконного до смешного". 19 March 2018 – via Kommersant.
  19. ↑ "Open Russia Movement Elects New Chairman". Mikhail Khodorkovsky. 26 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "В Ростове задержали руководителя штаба Собчак". 161.ru. 18 January 2018.
  21. ↑ "«Обобрали до трусов»: в Ростове протестуют против повышения пенсионного возраста". Рамблер/финансы.
  22. ↑ Узел, Кавказский. "Ростовская активистка вызвана в полицию после флешмоба "Обобрали до трусов"". Кавказский Узел.
  23. ↑ ""Обобрали до трусов". Голышом против пенсионной реформы". Радио Свобода.
  24. ↑ "Генпрокуратура пояснила внесение «Открытой России» в список нежелательных". РБК.
  25. ↑ "У Минюста РФ не оказалось претензий к "Открытой России"". Interfax.ru. 17 May 2017.
  26. ↑ "Задержания и обыски у активистов «Открытой России»". Медиазона.
  27. ↑ "В «Открытой России» устроили обыски. Возбуждено первое уголовное дело о работе «нежелательной» организации" (in Russian). Meduza. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "В Ростове прошли обыски у активистов движения «Открытая Россия»". DonDay - новости Ростова-на-Дону. Происшествия, события, новости бизнеса, политики, культуры и спорта.
  29. ↑ "Закрытка". 21 January 2019 – via Kommersant.
  30. ↑ "Суд отправил под домашний арест активистку "Открытой России" из Ростова-на-Дону". ТАСС.
  31. ↑ "Анастасию Шевченко из «Открытой России» заключили под домашний арест на месяц". www.kommersant.ru. 23 January 2019.
  32. ↑ Узел, Кавказский. "Анастасия Шевченко оставлена под домашним арестом". Кавказский Узел.
  33. ↑ "В аппарате детского омбудсмена подтвердили смерть дочери активистки "Открытой России"". ТАСС.
  34. ↑ "Песков выразил соболезнования в связи со смертью дочери активистки "Открытой России"". ТАСС.
  35. ↑ Ведомости (1 February 2019). "Песков выразил соболезнования в связи со смертью дочери активистки Шевченко". www.vedomosti.ru.
  36. ↑ https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/24/russia-first-criminal-case-under-undesirables-law=Russia%5B%5D: First Criminal Case under ‘Undesirables’ Law
  37. ↑ "Правозащитники вступились за активистов Анастасию Шевченко и Вячеслава Егорова". 7 February 2019 – via Kommersant.
  38. ↑ "On the Criminal Charges Filed by Russia under its "Undesirable Organization" Legislation". U.S. Mission to the OSCE. 7 February 2019.
  39. ↑ "«Мемориал» признал политической заключенной активистку «Открытой России» Шевченко, на которую завели дело о «нежелательной» организации". Медиазона.
  40. ↑ "«Мемориал» признал члена «Открытой России» Анастасию Шевченко преследуемой по политическим мотивам". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru.
  41. ↑ "Активистка «Открытой России» Анастасия Шевченко признана политзаключенной". bloknot-rostov.ru.
  42. ↑ "PRESS-RELEASE: the launch of the Coalition to Free the Kremlin's Political Prisoners". 21 February 2019.
  43. ↑ "Wicker, Cardin Condemn Detention of Russian Activist Nastya Shevchenko". CSCE. 7 February 2019.
  44. ↑ "Активистке «Открытой России» Анастасии Шевченко продлили домашний арест. Суд отказался разрешить ей водить детей в школу". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru.
  45. ↑ "Ростовский суд продлил домашний арест Анастасии Шевченко". Радио Свобода.
  46. ↑ "Ростовской правозащитнице Анастасии Шевченко продлили меру пресечения". 161.ru. 15 March 2019.
  47. ↑ "Ростовский облсуд отказался смягчать условия домашнего ареста Анастасии Шевченко". 1rnd.ru - Сайт города Ростова-на-Дону.
  48. ↑ "Суд назначил условный срок по первому делу о нежелательной организации". РБК (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  49. ↑ "Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  50. ↑ "Ростовской активистке Шевченко смягчили приговор". 161.ru - новости Ростова-на-Дону (in Russian). 10 August 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  51. ↑ "Бывшая активистка «Открытой России» Анастасия Шевченко уехала из страны". ОВД-News (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  52. ↑ "МВД объявило в розыск осужденную по делу о «нежелательной организации» Анастасию Шевченко". ОВД-News (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  53. ↑ "В Ростове прошел пикет в поддержку арестованной Анастасии Шевченко". 161.ru. 1 February 2019.
  54. ↑ "В Москве прошла акция в поддержку оппозиционерки Анастасии Шевченко". Interfax.ru. 10 February 2019.
  55. ↑ "Была ли у вас мать, подпоручик?". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru. 10 February 2019.
  56. ↑ "«Марш материнского гнева» в поддержку Анастасии Шевченко". Медиазона.
  57. ↑ "В городах России прошел "Марш материнского гнева". Есть задержанные". BBC News Русская Служба. 10 February 2019.
  58. ↑ Узел, Кавказский. "Участники марша памяти Немцова в Москве призвали освободить политзаключенных". Кавказский Узел.
  59. ↑ "Председателем «Открытой России» стала юрист Анастасия Буракова". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru.
  60. ↑ "«Открытая Россия» объявила о своей ликвидации". www.znak.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
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