2020

Dmitriev in 2018

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020

22 July — DMITRIEV sentenced to three years and six months’ imprisonment

3 August — Appeals against verdict and sentence lodged by all parties

5 August — People in over 80 towns and cities all over the world (in Bulgaria, Latvia, Ukraine, Scotland and Brittany among others) read out the names of those shot at Sandarmokh in 1937 and 1938.

Due to the Corona virus epidemic only a handful of people gathered at the memorial complex near Medvezhegorsk.

22 August — Exhibition about DMITRIEV “The Guardian of History” in St Petersburg

16 September — High Court of Karelia to hear appeals against sentence. Prosecution now asking for 13 years imprisonment.

18 September — Natasha “did not utter a single, unnecessary word”

22 September — First hearing at High Court, postponed for a week at Victor Anufriev’s request: he is self-isolating. Judge Alla Rats asks for a further expert assessment of “those nine photographs”

28 September — Open Letter “Move trial to new jurisdiction” from over 200 prominent Russian citizens

29 September — High Court hands down 13 year sentence for conviction under Article 132.4 (b) and sends other charges back for retrial.

Letter after sentence from Yury DMITRIEV to Veronica Ivleva

30 September — “An outrageous decision“, Anufriev interview with Zoya Svetova

OCTOBER-DECEMBER

12 November — Taking into account the years and months DMITRIEV has been held in the Detention Centre he is due for release after completing the three years and six months sentence imposed by Judge Merkov

24 November — First hearing in new trial. Custody extended for a further three months.

3 December — Cassation appeal against High Court decision allowed by Third Cassation Court in St Petersburg. The case materials are transferred there.

10 December — International Human Rights Day. DMITRIEV is named a laureate of the 2020 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights; President Putin meets with his advisory Human Rights Council.

13 December — Fourth anniversary of DMITRIEV’s arrest

24 December — (?) Next hearing in Petrozavodsk City Court

2021

JANUARY-MARCH

28 January — Yury DMITRIEV’s 65th birthday

16 February — Third Cassation Court in St Petersburg leaves 13-year sentence unchanged

Victor Anufriev at Petersburg hearing

late February — Current period of custody ends

30 March — Memorial lawyers submit an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

APRIL-JUNE

2 April — Dmitriev’s third trial in the Petrozavodsk City Court resumes

June — Anufriev submits an appeal to the Supreme Court against the ruling at the Karelian High Court.

JULY-SEPTEMBER

31 August — On the last permissible date the Supreme Court formally accepts Anufriev’s appeal for consideration.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER

12 October — Judge Sergei Abramov announces that, after examination (for four days), he has concluded that the appeal does not merit consideration by the Supreme Court.

19 October — Anufriev challenges this decision in a letter to Supreme Court chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev. A decision will be announced in a month’s time and proceedings in the third trial at the Petrozavodsk City Court are halted.

11-12 November — Moscow-based International Memorial and its Human Rights Centre become aware of lawsuits against them by the Prosecutor-General and the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office, respectively.

19 November — Short, formal hearing at Petrozavodsk City Court. Announcement expected from Supreme Court in Moscow.

23 November — Hearing in Moscow City Court of lawsuit against Memorial Human Rights Centre.

25 November — Hearing at Supreme Court of lawsuit against International Memorial.

DECEMBER 2021

27 December — Petrozavodsk City Court sentences DMITRIEV to 15 years imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony.

28 December — RF Supreme Court orders INTERNATIONAL MEMORIAL to dissolve

29 December — Moscow City Court orders MEMORIAL HRC to dissolve