Newsletters / The criminal case against Andrei Pivovarov
Andrei Pivovarov was arrested on 31 May 2021 and sent to a pre-trial detention centre. He was taken off the plane that was flying to Poland. He went through security checks, boarded the plane and when he was on the runway, he was stopped, FSB officers came on board and informed Andrei that he was on the federal wanted list after which they searched his flat and transported him to Krasnodar.
He is charged under Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – leadership of an “undesirable” organization, which the authorities consider Open Russia. He faces up to six years in prison. The case is based on 34 posts on his public Facebook page. Among them were texts urging to help doctors during a pandemic, or criticising Makarov, the speaker of the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly, or discussing the topic of voting on constitutional amendments.
“It is the intention to run for the State Duma that is the sole reason for my arrest. The aim of the authorities is to deprive me, under any pretext, of the opportunity to be elected in a single-mandate constituency in Moscow, where I would undoubtedly have won. In other words, to restrict the constitutional rights of both me and the citizens, who should themselves decide who is worthy of being a deputy and who is not.
Andrei was arrested because of his intention to run for the State Duma. He was going to run in the single-mandate constituency in Moscow and made no secret of it. Already after his arrest, the Yabloko party nominated Andrei as a candidate on the party list in the Krasnodar region. Our team ran the first and only campaign of a political prisoner in Russia.
Andrei is imprisoned in the Krasnodar region because, according to investigators, he was in Krasnodar when one of the posts was published. Andrei’s lawyers proved that the post was not published by him, but by his SMM manager, who was in Moscow that day, but the court did not take this argument into account. There is no concept of “justice” in Kuban. Investigators openly call him an “enemy of the state”. The press is not allowed to attend most of the hearings.
On May 27, 2021 (a few days before his arrest), the dissolution of Open Russia was announced to ensure the safety of the participants. On April 7, the judge refused to return the case to the prosecutor’s office, despite violations of articles of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation. The next hearing will be held on April 21. Prosecution witnesses will be summoned to it.
Andrei sits in total isolation in the SIZO on the “special block” – this is a prison inside the prison where only particularly dangerous criminals are held. Communication with the outside world is only possible through the official FSIN-letter service and through a lawyer. Andrei was not given a single call to his relatives in 10 months, and his mother was only allowed one hour-long visit in all that time. He has no opportunity to communicate with his 5-year-old son who lives in St. Petersburg.
Timeline
2021
27 May – announcement of the liquidation of Open Russia to ensure the safety of the participants.
29 May – institution of criminal proceedings against Andrei Pivovarov (he was not informed of this).
31 May – arrest of Andrei Pivovarov on the runway of St. Petersburg airport. The plane was on its way to Warsaw. Andrei was sent to pre-trial detention facility 1 in Krasnodar.
August and September:
Andrei is registered as a candidate for the State Duma from the Yabloko party (on party lists in Krasnodar Krai). Campaigning in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar. Krasnodar Krai was one of the leaders in Russia in terms of fraud, with not a single independent candidate winning a mandate.
October – indictment in the final version. Seizure of Andrei’s property.
November – first hearing on the merits. Arrest of Andrei was prolonged till April 29th, 2022.
December – hearing of the Supreme Court regarding transfer of the case from Krasnodar to St. Petersburg. Court dismissed the petition.
2022
February – Appellate panel of the Russian Supreme Court refused to transfer Andrei Pivovarov’s case to St Petersburg.
On 24 March, a hearing was held on the merits, at which the lawyers requested that the criminal case be returned to the prosecutor. The defence believes that there is every reason for this, as the indictment was drawn up with substantial violations of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation.
On April 7, the judge refused to return the case to the prosecutor’s office, despite violations of articles of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation. The next hearing will be held on April 21. Prosecution witnesses will be summoned to it.
Interview and video:
Andrei’s interview in Novaya Gazeta with Zoya Svetova about how he came to politics
Khodorkovsky’s video about the essence of the charges and what the law on “undesirable” organisations itself is
Radio Liberty interview with Tatyana Usmanova about how the team works while Andrei is in custody
Website for information on the case