Reacting to the news Dimitrovgrad City Court today dismissed a request by prison authorities to subject human rights activist Yan Sidorov to three years of harsh probation conditions upon his release today. Responding to the court’s decision, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director Natalia Zviagina said:
“This is a huge and undeniable victory for Yan Sidorov, and for all those who have supported him through four years of politically motivated detention. We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss the deplorable attempt to impose further restrictions on Yan’s freedom – this must spell the end of the string of injustices he has been subjected to.
“Yan Sidorov should never have been imprisoned in the first place. He is a prisoner of conscience who has endured years of punishment simply for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”
Background
On 2 November, Dimitrovgrad City Court dismissed a request by authorities at penal colony IK-10 – where Yan Sidorov served two years of his sentence – to impose a three-year probation period on him.