GThe lava of the Karelian “Memorial” historian Dmitriev was sentenced to 15 years in prison Instead of 13 years, the historian and human rights activist were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Dmitriev’s case has been dragging on since 2016 because of photos of his adopted daughter
Yuri Dmitriev
The Petrozavodsk City Court has reviewed the verdict in the case of indecent acts and pornography against historian Yuri Dmitriev, who heads the Karelian branch of the Memorial (the organization is recognized as a foreign agent). The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, reports TASS. Dmitriev was also found guilty of illegal possession of weapons.
“To impose a sentence of 15 years of imprisonment with serving in a high-security colony,” the judge decided. Prior to the review, the sentence for Dmitriev was 13 years.
The defendant himself claims that he took photos of his minor ward for medical purposes, since after the orphanage the girl came to him weakened. Because of this, Dmitriev kept a diary of her health, where he attached photos. In addition, the defense argued that he was afraid of the deprivation of parental rights and the return of his daughter to the orphanage, after in 2008 the guardianship authorities took the traces left on the child’s body after mustard plasters for bruises from beatings.
A criminal case against the historian was initiated in 2016. Initially, he was charged under Article 135 of the Criminal Code (lewd acts), Article 242.2 of the Criminal Code (using a minor for the production of pornography), Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code (illegal possession of weapons) and Part 4 of Article 132 of the Criminal Code (violent acts of a sexual nature). During the first trial, Dmitriev was acquitted of most of the charges. The defendant was charged only with illegal possession of weapons because of the fragments of a hunting rifle found in his possession and was given 3.5 years in prison.
But in 2018, the acquittal was overturned, and the case was sent for review. According to the defendant’s defense, the reason for this was a letter from Dmitriev’s adopted daughter, in which she tells about her sufferings. “They forced her to tell a lie, unfortunately, the process is closed, I can’t say anything more,” lawyer Viktor Anufriev said at the time.
Dmitriev is a Karelian historian. In the early 1990s, he discovered several large graves of victims of Stalin’s repressions in the region, including the Sandarmokh firing range, where, according to various estimates, from 6 thousand to 9 thousand people were killed and buried.
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