The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets the ruling by the Petrozavodsk City Court sentencing historian and human rights activist Yury Dmitriyev to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
Regardless of the sentence being more lenient than the one sought by prosecutors, this ruling cannot be considered fair. It has undermined Yuri Dmitriyev’s reputation and health. Yuri Dmitriyev was arrested on 13 December 2016 on questionable grounds. An anonymous application served as a pretext for initiating the proceedings against him. On 5 April 2018, the Petrozavodsk City Court acquitted him but two months later the Karelia Supreme Court cancelled the sentence and called for a re-examination of the case, while producing new charges.
Yuri Dmitriyev is a historian well-known and respected in Karelia, and the head of the Karelia branch of Memorial: An International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society. Mr. Dmitriyev has devoted 30 years to efforts at commemorating the victims of the political repression and persecution of Stalin’s regime including the establishment of memorial sites at Sandarmokh, Krasny Bor and Sekirnaya Gora.