Alexander Sokolov
Alexander Sokolov, born 1987, Moscow. Charges: Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Organization of the activities of an extremist organization); “The case of the "Army of the Will of the People"”. Sentence (August 9, 2017): Three years six months' deprivation of liberty in a general regime colony. Status: at large. Recognition: Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as a political prisoner, October 28, 2015; Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, August 23, 2015.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Journalists · Extremism cases
Sentence
3 years 6 months
Three years six months' deprivation of liberty in a general regime colony
Upheld December 20, 2017
Charges
- Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Organization of the activities of an extremist organization
Full wording of the charges
"actively engaged in political activity, positioning themselves as persons in opposition to the State authorities of the Russian Federation", "under the plausible pretext of organising and holding a referendum" on the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution and the law "On the trial of the people of Russia over the President and members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation", wanted to continue the activities of the banned "Army of the Will of the People", with the "main and only goal" of the organisation being the dissemination of extremist materials.
Latest event
August 28, 2018 — imprisonment ends
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial Human Rights Centre, October 28, 2015
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, August 23, 2015
Timeline
· Imprisonment ends
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 3 years 6 months
· Persecution ends
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial Human Rights Centre
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners
· Persecution begins
The case of the "Army of the Will of the People"
Criminal case
The case of the "Army of the Will of the People"
Other defendants in the case
- Kirill Barabash — At large, 3 years 10 months
- Yuri Mukhin — At large, 4 years
- Valery Parfenov — At large, 3 years 10 months
Thematic group: The case of the "Army of the Will of the People"
Details and sources
Full summary
On 22 July, a case was opened against Aliaksandr Sokolov in connection with his activities within the Initiative Group for Preparation of the Referendum "For Responsible Power"; on 28 July, was searched; on 29 July, Sokolov was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention centre.
On 10 August 2017, he was sentenced to three and a half years in a general regime colony.
On 5 February 2014, Sokolov was searched and questioned as part of the criminal case against initiative group members Kirill Barabash and Valery Parfenov, but an employee of the Centre "E" informed him that the reason for the prosecution was the calculation of the costs of the Olympics carried out in his dissertation "The Impact of Rent-Oriented Behaviour on Investments of Russian State Corporations", defended in October 2013.
On 28 August, Sokolov was released under a law equating a day in custody to a day and a half in a general regime colony.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.