HRC "Memorial" recognizes Rostov student Maxim Smyshlyaev as political prisoner

Maxim Smyshlyaev, a resident of Rostov, is accused of aiding and abetting Ukrainian citizen Arthur Panov, who was plotting a terror act, without any evidence of the investigation. This was reported by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Arthur Panov, who moved to Rostov-on-Don from Ukraine in November 2015, was detained on December 5, 2015. He is 17 years old, and he is well-known in social networks as "Arthur Romberg". He has declared himself as a successor of the activities of the German left-wing radical organization "Red Army Faction", dissolved in 1998.

No prohibited items were found at the Maxim Smyshlyaev's place. Meanwhile, according to the human rights defenders, the investigators failed to prove that Maxim Smyshlyaev treated his correspondence with the then minor Arthur Panov as a preparation for a terror act. The human rights defenders note that Arthur Panov himself initiated correspondence with Maxim Smyshlyaev and invited him to take part in illegal activities.

According to the HRC "Memorial", Maxim Smyshlyaev is being prosecuted for being a supporter of left-wing opposition, and law enforcers want to associate Arthur Panov with left-wing activists from the south of Russia and then to promote the version of existence of relationship between Russian opposition and Ukrainian radicals.

Earlier, Darya Polyudova, a Krasnodar activist, has been questioned in the Arthur Panov's case. She has denied any involvement in his activities.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.