Yuri Dmitriev is innocent, he must be released
The second trial of Yuri Dmitriev, a historian, the head of the Karelian Memorial Society, our friend, colleague, and ally, is almost over.
Due to Yuri Dmitriev, the names of many thousands of people, victims of state political terror in our country, were deduced from nonexistence. For more than thirty years, he dedicated himself to the research of the Gulag history of Karelia. His contribution to the discovery of mass graves of victims of the Stalinist terror in Sandarmokh and Krasny Bor is enormous. The remembrance ceremonies with the participants both from Russia and other countries are held annually in these places now.
This internationally recognized work of Yuri Dmitriev had inflicted misery on him.
Nowadays, when the political repressions are becoming frequent in our country again, and the truth about the past does not fit into the statist concept of history, an authorities’ hostile attitude towards the preservation of the memory of state political terror is predictable.
Against this background, the «Case of Dmitriev» was initiated.
The aim of those who initiated it was both to suppress the work of the historian and social activist, and to discredit his name.
We state, there is no doubt that Yuri Dmitriev is innocent and the charge is falsified.
The first trial of Dmitriev ended with his just acquittal. But for the falsifiers, it wasn’t possible to resign themselves to defeat. Against overwhelming evidence and giving a blind eye to the massive protest campaign in Russia and many other countries, they want to lynch an undesirable person.
A guilty verdict will be a disgrace for our country.
We demand the release of the political prisoner Yuri Dmitriev.
The Board of the Historical, Educational, Human Rights and Charitable Society Memorial
Moscow, July 7, 2020