EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
First the opposition was silenced, then human rights organizations were dismantled and finally all free media were chased out of the country. Anyone who does not conform to the Kremlin’s mores soon comes into contact with the Russian legal system. News hour spoke to two lawyers for prominent opposition figures about how their work has changed since the war in Ukraine.
“Since then, strict laws have been passed and people have been arrested en masse,” says lawyer Mikhail Biryukov. Among other things, he assists politician Ilya Yashin, who has also been convicted under the new laws. Yashin opposed a Moscow district council and hosted a weekly YouTube program in which he also criticized the war.
According to a judge, Yashin spread “false” information on his YouTube channel about the events in the Ukrainian town of Bocha earlier this year, suggesting that Russian troops were responsible for war crimes committed there. Something that international research had shown. His punishment? Spending 8.5 years in a penal colony.
Lawyer Biryukov pleaded for acquittal, but was under no illusions: “On paper, Russia still has a functioning constitutional state, but in practice we have said goodbye to it”. He can plead all he wants, he can no longer get his clients free. “At most I can make sure they are treated with respect and no violence is used.”
Fewer and fewer people are being acquitted under Russian criminal law.
Vadim Prokhorov
In addition to opposition members, lawyers have also recently become targets themselves. Dozens of lawyers have been removed from office after advising Kremlin critics. Some of Biryukov’s colleagues are even in prison or have fled. Such as Vadim Prokhorov, who assists opposition politician Kara-Moerza, among others.
He also shared factual information about the Russian army, but the authorities dismissed it as ‘fake news’ and ‘high treason’. Prokhorov pleaded for an acquittal, to no avail. In recent years, none of his clients for whom he requested acquittal succeeded.
“In the last year, the acquittal rate in Russian criminal law was about 0.18. But when you talk about political trials, that rate is zero.”
It is clear that it is very difficult for a lawyer without a prospect of acquittal, he sighs.
Lawyers on the run
Kara-Moerza was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison. That verdict, incidentally, was pronounced in the absence of Prokhorov. He had fled to Strasbourg the week before the verdict, after being threatened with a lawsuit against him.
The judge wanted him to stop reporting after each closed hearing. “They let all these things take place behind closed doors in the hope that everyone forgets who Ilya Yashin is, forgets who Vladimir Kara-Murza is. Our job as lawyers is not to make them forget.”
And so he continued to report on what happened behind closed doors. “The judge threatened to sue me at the last hearing.” It would not be the first time that a lawyer himself disappeared behind bars. “Dozens preceded me. I would end up in the cell next to Kara-Murza or Jashin.” And so he decided to flee in consultation with his client. “I can still do something from abroad, nothing from a cell.”
Biryukov understands his colleague’s decision, but is optimistic about the future. “With every lawyer who leaves or disappears, my job gets harder.”
Today’s arguments are hopefully tomorrow’s acquittal.
Vadim Prokhorov
Their function may be stripped down in court, but for the prisoners they play an important role, both lawyers realize: they are the only line with the outside world. “We are a kind of glorified postman,” Biryukov sums up his current job. “I bring Yashin the latest news, messages from friends and family and tell him what’s going on in the rest of the world.” Jashin in turn writes letters and gives them to his lawyer.
According to Prokhorov, this task should not be underestimated. “You don’t just want a lawyer who signs the cross, you want a lawyer who is also a friend. Someone who looks at the world the same way and has the same ideas. Sometimes you are also a bit of a psychologist.”
Despite the fact that the options are limited, both lawyers will continue to do their work, also because they hope that one day, under a new political regime, their arguments will still be heard. “Today’s arguments are hopefully tomorrow’s acquittal, or the day after,” Prokhorov hopes.
2023-08-11 05:00:01
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