August 2024

What We Achieved Thanks to Your Support

Key Highlights

We launched “Lifeline” in just three days!

Writing letters is one of the key ways to support those in detention. We have known this since 2021, when, in collaboration with the “Arrestants 212” project, we reminded people on the 21st of each month about the importance of writing letters. The recently released political prisoners emphasised this again, inspiring us to create “Lifeline”.

To be honest, we did not expect such an overwhelming response. And we are thrilled. We are also happy that, for many, this was their first letter to a prisoner.

We are also testing several new initiatives

OVD-Info has launched a project, provisionally named “Emergency Assistance”, providing assistance to detainees in need of medical care. Another project, “Post office”, aims to provide humanitarian aid to political prisoners and their families.

In August (actually, even a bit earlier), we started testing these initiatives by collecting requests for assistance, assessing our resources and finances, and gauging your willingness to support them. They aren’t even featured on our website yet, but these initiatives already have initial donors and funds raised. If and when these projects become fully operational, we will share more details. For now, follow our updates on our website.

Express help

Legal Bot and Hotline

In August, our hotline handled 943 calls. In total, our operators spent 30 hours, 52 minutes, and 37 seconds on the phone.

By the end of August, our Telegram bot had 200,133 active users.

Previously, our count comprised all bot users, but since February, we have only been including active users — those who have not unsubscribed and continue receiving our updates.

Over the month, our legal guides were viewed 14,997 times. The most popular guide in August was “There is a Search in My Home. What Should I Do?”, which was read 1,888 times.

Hotline legal assistance in August:

Provided 116 consultations by phone;
Responded to 100 emails sent to legal@ovdinfo.org;
Reviewed 4 appeal drafts submitted through “Generaptor” — our judicial appeal generator.

Administrative Cases and Assistance in Police Stations

In August, our attorneys and defenders:

Made 8 visits to police stations, helping 9 people in 3 cities: Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and St. Petersburg;
Assisted 15 people in administrative court hearings across 5 cities: Armavir, Galich, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and St. Petersburg;
Successfully had 1 administrative offence case sent for reconsideration or dismissed.

If you are detained at a protest, preparing for trial, and already have a court date, please fill out a request for legal assistance, and our lawyers will contact you. We strive to help everyone, but the sooner you reach out to us, the higher the chances we are able to provide an attorney before the trial.

Criminal Cases

In August, OVD-Info legal professionals and attorneys:

Attended 1 police search in Moscow;
Accompanied clients to 1 interrogation in Moscow;
Took on 1 new criminal case involving 1 defendant;
Defended a total of 101 defendants in 94 criminal cases across 51 cities.

Sentences in cases involving OVD-Info attorneys:

Anastasia Gordienko from Omsk Region received a 1.5-year suspended sentence for repeated “discrediting” of the Russian army. She was defended by attorney Andrey Ognev.
Georgy Zykov from Krasnoyarsk Krai was fined 350,000 rubles for “discrediting” and defaming a judge. He was represented in court by attorney Dmitry Levichev.

We consider all charges and subsequent criminal cases politically motivated and unlawful.

News and Media

In August, we prepared and released:

293 express news articles on political persecution in 67 regions, along with 134 posts covering detentions, court cases, and repression for anti-war statements, anti LGBTQ+ pressure, protests against mobilisation, and state-driven “morality” crackdowns.
6 in-depth articles on political persecution:
- 3 reports;
- 2 interviews;
- 1 feature article.
A chronicle of political repression for the first seven months of 2024.

Articles for reading:

“Now we have all the time in the world, and there’s no need to rush” — The story of Sasha Skochilenko’s reunion with her loved ones. Sasha Skochilenko was sentenced to 7 years in prison for swapping price tags with anti-war slogans. After almost two years in detention, she was released during the historical exchange of political prisoners. OVD-Info talked to her after she had reunited with her loved ones in Cologne, Germany.
“We’re still living here” — Ural artist Alisa Gorshenina on harassment, support, and why she chooses not to leave Russia.

International Advocacy

We Submitted a Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

In collaboration with the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” and the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial”, we submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding children’s access to justice. Our recommendations apply not only to Russia but also to other countries.

Key topics covered:

Access to justice for children subjected to harmful traditional practices (e.g., female genital mutilation, early marriage, forced separation from mothers after a father’s death or divorce);
Access to justice for children belonging to vulnerable groups, including migrants;
The impact of restrictive laws on LGBTQ+ children’s access to information and justice;
The forced transfer of children to occupying countries during armed conflicts;
The inefficiency of national mechanisms for child rights protection.

We Submitted a Report on the Persecution of Human Rights Defenders to the EU Committee of Ministers. In collaboration with Memorial NGO, we submitted a report on the state of persecution of human rights defenders in Russia.

Our website has a dedicated resource on international advocacy, detailing our reports, submissions to international bodies, and their outcomes.