Tomorrow, Putin will meet with Biden and tell him how carefully human rights are being observed in Russia and how openly the opposition is able to operate, while at that very moment in Moscow, the house arrest of four defendants in the "sanitary case" will be extended.
Kira Yarmysh, Oleg Stepanov, Maria Alyokhina, and Dmitry Baranovsky have been under house arrest for five months already. Of the ten defendants in the “sanitary case,” they are the last ones still subject to this preventive measure. Restrictions on the others have been eased, and the cases of Lyubov Sobol, Oleg Navalny, and Nikolai Lyaskin have already been sent to court.
And yet, over these five months of investigation, nothing has happened. No investigative actions are being carried out. The defendants are not being summoned to the Investigative Committee. No one is giving them access to the materials of the criminal case.
It is clear why this is happening. There was no crime. Accordingly, there are no case materials either. The investigators are simply dragging things out. That is the sole purpose of the “sanitary case” — to keep people isolated for as long as possible, preventing them from leaving their homes, working, or using the internet and the phone. When the trial will take place and what punishment it may impose is unknown, but in essence that punishment is already being carried out right now.
At the same time, despite being under house arrest, Oleg Stepanov continues to run his campaign for the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament). You can help him right now.
The hearing to extend the house arrest of Yarmysh, Stepanov, Alyokhina, and Baranovsky will take place tomorrow, June 16, at 12:00 p.m. at Basmanny Court. Come and support them.