MENU
Documenting
war crimes in Ukraine
The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Similar articles

Russia’s FSB launches first Crimean show trial’Terrorism’ trials for Crimean film director and other opponents of annexationUkrainian film producer facing Russian ‘terrorism’ chargesRussian FSB detains Ukrainian film producer in SimferopolPunitive psychiatry used against Crimean ‘terrorist plot’ suspect?Russia’s Geopolitical PrisonersGuilty of being Ukrainian: Russian court sentences Maidan activist to 2 yearsBeing Ukrainian is not a crime: Free Yury Yatsenko!One of Russia’s Ukrainian hostages to be freed"One message to FSB: You didn’t break me and Ukraine cannot be broken"Blind and disabled Ukrainian political prisoner hospitalized, delaying Russia’s attempt to sentence him to 18 years Children 'beaten for supporting Ukraine'. Seventeen kids returned after being held in Russian-occupied Crimea Crimean lecturer dismissed, beaten and jailed for Ukrainian songs gets new sentence over a post about Russia’s killing of civiliansRussia’s FSB come for elderly Crimean Tatar National Congress delegate in hunt for ‘saboteurs’Crimean radio enthusiast with a flag of Ukraine sentenced to 12 years on fake ‘spying’ charges Ukrainian officials prevent former political prisoner held in Russia from returning to UkraineImprisoned Ukrainian civic journalist declares dry hunger strike in occupied Crimea Arrest warrant against Putin sends a vital signal, however Russia began committing that war crime in 2014 Russia denies Ukrainian prisoners of war protected status, tortures out 'confessions' and then stages illegal ‘trials’ New brutal sentence in Russia’s 'liquidation of dissenters' in occupied Crimea
• Topics / The right to a fair trial

Crimean ‘terrorist plot’ suspect in Russian psychiatric ward

19.08.2014   

[photo: Wikipedia]

Alexei Chirny, one of the four Crimeans known for their opposition to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and now facing extremely dubious ‘terrorist charges’ in Moscow, has written a letter seemingly from a psychiatric ward within the Butyrka pre-trial detention centre asking for the Ukrainian consul to come and see him.  Gordon.ua reports that a copy of the letter was passed to the NGO ‘Open Dialogue’.  The NGO has, together with Ukraine’s consul in Russia, Hennady Bryskalenko, had previously tried, without success, to find out where Chirny was being held. 

The letter asks for the consul to visit him and states that he is a Ukrainian national, having formally rejected Russian citizenship on April 18, 2014 in the Crimea.

As reported here, four Crimeans, all known for their non-violent opposition to Russia’s occupation of the Crimea, were arrested in May of this year, and soon afterwards taken to Moscow where they have been held ever since on charges which raise serious doubts. 

38-year-old Oleg Sentsov, renowned Ukrainian film director, solo father of two, EuroMaidan activist and staunch opponent of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea has been accused of master-minding an alleged ’Right Sector terrorist’ plot

The FSB is claiming that he, Alexander Kolchenko; Gennady Afanasyev and  Alexei Chirny are members of a Right Sector ‘diversionary terrorist group’.  Their main aim, or so the FSB version goes, was to carry out ‘diversionary-terrorist’ acts in Simferopol; Yalta and Sevastopol, and in the last of these to destroy a number of buildings, railway bridges and power lines.

The FSB claim that searches carried out in the homes of the suspects found: ‘explosive substances; firearms; ammunitions; canisters with inflammatory liquid; construction masks (similar to those used during the disturbances on Maidan); respirators; gas masks; aerosol cans with paint; nationalist symbols, etc.”

There has been international protest over Sentsov’s detention, and an Amnesty International urgent action calling for the release of Sentsov and Kolchenko.  The difficulty up till now with Afanasyev and Chirny was that they both appeared to have ‘confessed’, almost certainly under duress, and there was virtually no contact with their relatives and lawyers.   This is particular true of Chirny about whom almost nothing is known. 

It remains to be seen whether the Russian authorities will allow the consul to visit Chirny.  There are certainly some pressing questions, including why he is being held in a psychiatric ward, if this is the case.

[Halya Coynash]

 Share this