ZCZC
BFF-16
RUSSIA-POLITICS-DEMO-COURT-STUDENTS
Tears, fear as Russian students jailed over opposition protests
MOSCOW, Aug 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – In a court on the outskirts of Moscow,
fellow students of Yegor Zhukov started weeping as he delivered a speech via
a video link from jail.
“I don’t know if I’ll become free myself,” he said, “but Russia definitely
will.”
The 21-year-old is among a group of young protesters with bright futures
risking criminal convictions and life-changing jail terms as Russia attempts
to quell dissent.
Zhukov is the most prominent among them thanks to his popular YouTube clips
where he criticises President Vladimir Putin’s regime and backs the anti-
corruption campaign of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
In recent weeks tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets
of Moscow after authorities blocked Navalny’s allies from running in next
month’s election for the city parliament.
Police have arrested around 3,000 people at the biggest demonstrations the
country has seen in years, but most were released shortly after.
However, around 10 remain in pre-trial detention and face up to eight years
in jail for participating in what prosecutors call “mass disorder”. Several
others are facing related charges such as attacking police.
Zhukov, who was due to begin fourth-year studies at the prestigious Moscow
Higher School of Economics (HSE), saw dozens of HSE students and teachers
come out to support him at his recent appeal hearing, but the judge ruled he
must stay in prison pending trial.
“Many students feel that they could easily be in his place,” said HSE
postgraduate Armen Aramyan, 22, condemning what he called “lawless actions by
this repressive machine.”
Anastasia Solovyova, a 20-year-old student, said she was still emotional
after the judge’s ruling.
“I’m very upset right now,” she said, adding that she was one of those who
cried during the hearing.
First-year law student Boris Karpyshev said, “You fear a lot for your
future.”
– From student to ‘hero’ –
The “mass disorder” charge Zhukov faces technically only applies to extreme
acts such as setting property on fire and using weapons and explosives.
None of this happened at the protest where he was arrested in late July, or
at any other of the rallies, more of which are planned in coming weeks.
As well as the courts, Russian pro-Kremlin media has been swift to accuse
Zhukov, reporting that he was the “coordinator” of a mass protest.
Private Ren-TV, known for negative coverage of the opposition, aired video
it said showed him “deftly directing” the crowd. The case against him is
solely based on these gestures, according to reports.
More than 300 teaching staff at the HSE signed an open letter urging the
court to close the case against Zhukov and the others.
HSE, founded in 1992, is seen as one of Russia’s most progressive schools
and has said it will not expel him.
But philosophy professor Kirill Martynov has predicted “quite a harsh
collision of views” when the term starts in September as a group of teachers
have urged the university to stay “outside politics”.
Zhukov was a “popular, independent student” but his behaviour after his
arrest has made him a “hero” to many, Martynov said.
– ‘He’s patriotic’ –
By contrast another of the detained students, Daniil Konon, who is studying
engineering at Moscow’s prestigious Bauman Institute, was not known to have
strong political views.
Konon is a former cadet who has taken part in military parades on Red
Square.
He attended the protest last month after collecting signatures in support
of an opposition candidate as a summer job, his lawyer said.
When election authorities rejected prominent opposition candidates’
applications to stand, they cited faked signatures of support in several
cases.
Ren-TV showed him gesturing at protesters and he told the channel he was
showing them which way to go.
Fellow Bauman engineering student Daniil Khryashov, 21, said: “He’s
patriotic… he wasn’t even against the current authorities.”
Konon went to the rally because he was upset that the authorities rejected
the genuine signatures he had collected, Khryashov said.
His mother Natalya Konon, who runs a dog shelter, told AFP he “wasn’t
involved in politics” and hadn’t gone to previous rallies.
“He wasn’t part of the opposition,” she insisted.
Also facing a criminal charge is Aidar Gubaidulin, who recently graduated
from Moscow Physical and Technical University, a hot spot for top
programmers.
Rectors at several other leading Moscow universities have warned students
against breaking the law at protests on pain of expulsion.
– Taking the rap –
The detentions have prompted some Russian celebrities to speak out in
support, including popular rapper Oxxxymiron, whose real name is Miron
Fyodorov.
Not previously known for his political views, the 34-year-old wore a T-
shirt with Zhukov’s face at an August rally and attended court to offer him
bail of two million rubles ($30,000).
“Yegor Zhukov is clearly a principled, idealistic guy that didn’t actually
break any law,” he told AFP.
“If he’s being accused of being the organiser of a riot but the riot didn’t
actually take place, that’s clearly absurd.”
Explaining his decision to speak out now, the rapper said: “Everyone has
their personal boiling point.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/1005 hrs