There have been some high profile cases involving the Russian Authorities, such as the continued detention of the Pussy Riot members and now the Greenpeace trials. But at our last meeting we wrote letters on behalf of 5 men who have recently been denied political assylum in Russia. There is some bitter irony in their trying to seek refuge in the Russian Federation, but fleeing from Kyrgyzstan they had little choice in where they went. Amnesty International believes the men would be at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment and their rights to a fair trial would be denied if returned to Kyrgyzstan.
There is a sample letter here:- russian deportation letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. If you also look at this urgent action details re russian deportation, apart from more details it also has other addresses to send the letter to, such as the Prosecutor General and UK Ambassador.
We have just received another Russian Federation Action – this time the detention of Mikhail Kosenko in a psychiatric hospital. Amnesty International believes he is clearly a prisoner of conscience – Mikhail Kosenko press release – and this is a disturbing return to past practices of the USSR. There was the recent case of Raisa Radchenko in the Ukraine, fortunately now released.
Please send a letter to the Russian Authorites on behalf of Mikhail Kosenko – sample here, but please adapt as you wish. Mikhail Kosenko Letter