As the Dmitriev trial got under way this summer, journalist Maria Eismont concluded an article about the case (“Dmitriev should be a State-Prize nominee“, 6 June 2017) with the following words:
“There is another important thing about the Dmitriev case: the charge his persecutors chose for him. He was not charged with ‘extremism’ or ‘separatism’, which have been commonplace in politically-motivated cases, but with child pornography and depraved actions towards a minor. Continue reading
Between 1 June 2017 and 5 April 2018, YURY DMITRIEV was on trial in Petrozavodsk charged under Article 242.2 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (“Use of a minor for the purposes of preparing pornography”) and Article 135 (“Perverted acts without the use of force against a minor”). For further details of these laws and the penalties they carry, see below.
The charges relate to photographs Dmitriev took of his foster daughter Natasha, in a naked state, between the ages of three and seven. He denied the charges. See Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse in Russia. (Later, Dmitriev was additionally charged, under Article 226 with “Stealing or Possession of Arms, Ammunition” etc.)
After his renewed arrest in June 2018, DMITRIEV was charged additionally under Article 135, Part 4, see below. This is also the charge recently brought against 66-year-old Sergei KOLTYRIN, director of the Medvezhyegorsk district museum.
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В Петрозаводском горсуде 22 июня продолжился судебный процесс над известным историком, общественником Юрием Дмитриевым, которого обвиняют в изготовлении порнографии с изображением его приемной дочери. В суде выступили свидетели со стороны защиты, а также приглашенный эксперт-сексолог Лев Щеглов.
Continue readingOn 10 January 2017 while the charges against Yury DMITRIEV were still being investigated the nationwide, State-funded Rossiya-24 TV channel broadcast a 13-minute report entitled “What does the Memorial Society have to hide?”
7×7 interview with Victor Anufriev
Yury DMITRIEV, head of Memorial in Karelia, is to remain in custody. On 29 December, the High Court of Karelia heard an appeal for a change in the measure of restraint imposed on the historian until mid-February 2017. He was arrested for allegedly preparing child pornography. The investigation claims that he took pictures of his naked foster daughter. Dmitriev declares he is innocent of the charge.
Victor M. Anufriev
Dmitriev’s defence attorney says that the photographs were intended for the Agency for Guardianship and Foster Care. The photos he took over several years monitored the physical condition of his foster daughter. Now these materials form the basis for a criminal case. In the corridor of the High Court, Moscow attorney Victor Anufriev offered his commentary to the press.
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The Dmitriev Affair 