Human rights activists: Mikhail Trepashkin's life under immediate threat

The "Caucasian Knot" has been handed over an open address to the ambassadors of G7 in the Russian federation about the situation threatening the life of political prisoner Mikhail Trepashkin. The document is signed by Liudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group; Elena Bonner, human rights activist; Svetlana Gannushkina, "Civil Assistance" Committee; Lev Ponomaryov, movement "For Human Rights"; Yuri Samodurov, director of the Andrei Sakharov museum and public centre; Ernst Cherniy, secretary of the Public Committee to Protect Scholars; clergyman Gleb Yakunin, Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience.

Below is the full text of the address.

" The life of the Russian political prisoner Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin is directly threatened. He risks a drastic deterioration of his illnesses and a short work of criminals who are being set against him. We have lost hope to get a positive response from the Russian authorities. We have witnessed the futile attempts by the "Amnesty International" to protect him, and the refusal of the punishment enforcement system management to the Sverdlovsk Regional Ombudsman, region of Russia, [who wanted to check] how Trepashkin serves his term. Therefore, we appeal to you as representatives of the powers which have become the closest partners of the Russian Federation in the "G8."

We call upon you to promptly express your concern and the concern of your Governments about the fate and persecution of M. I. Trepashkin. Moreover, we think that it is your and your Governments' moral and legal duty since, after signing the Helsinki agreements and following a number of subsequent OSCE summits and other international conferences attended by authorized representatives of your countries and, equally by the USSR and the Russian Federation, it has been universally recognized that the protection of personal rights is not the internal affair of the states only.

Mikhail Trepashkin's rights are being violated before our eyes. Firstly, it is the right to life which is guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and Art. 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and articles 6 and 7 of the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights, and Art. 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call on you to immediately stand for him while he is held in the pre-trial prison in Ekaterinburg for the period of consideration of his cassation appeal.

As far back as on October 20, 2005, the allergist of Demidov town hospital gave a recommendation to hospitalize Trepashkin. The hospitalization was postponed under the pretext of consideration of Mikhail Trepashkin's petition on the grant of parole. However, there are no more grounds, while Trepashkin, despite a rapid deterioration of his health, is deprived hospital treatment although he is not a prisoner, he serves his term at a penal colony. This colony is located on the territory of the minimum security colony IK-13 in the town of Nizhni Tagil in the Urals. Thus, Trepashkin is as limited in his freedom, as prisoners.

Serious concern is caused by reports that the colony administration sets other convicts against Trepashkin, by hinting, among other things, that, because of him, other convicts may loose an opportunity of the grant of parole.

We are convinced that the persecution of Trepashkin is clearly politically motivated, that this is a revenge for becoming a defender of the victims of terrorist acts in Moscow in September 1999 and questioning the official version of the authorities. Trepashkin's arrest in October 2003 was caused by an entirely false accusation of storing arms – a pistol had been planted on his car. Two years later these charges were dropped by the court but, by that time, another charge was selected, i.e. disclosure of KGB secrets.

We should like you to draw the attention of the Russian Federation authorities to the necessity to abide by the norms of the Russian legislation with regard to Mikhail Trepashkin (Article 73 of the Criminal Enforcement Code), which require that the convict should serve his term in the region which is closest to his home. Trepashkin has five children, four of them are minors. During the recent years he has been working as a lawyer but he does not insist on serving his term at an institution for former law enforcement officers."

Earlier, Mikhail Trepashkin stated to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent: "I am deeply convinced that this is primarily a revenge for confronting Patrushev, the current FSB head. I think that he is a person who is not capable of ensuring safety of our citizens. It is a man who, by his moral qualities …If someone asks him to do something terrible, he can do it."

For reference, after resigning from the security agency Trepashkin became a practicing lawyer and worked at the Public Commission on investigating 1999 terrorist acts in dwelling houses in Moscow. This work served as basis for the book by Yuri Felshtinskiy and Alexander Litvinenko "FSB Explodes Russia."