Appeal to the European authorities in the case of Alexei Moskalev
We call on the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the members of the European Parliament to urgently use available means to prevent the extradition of Alexei Moskalev from Belarus to Russia and to secure his transfer to a safe country
Alexei Moskalev is a single father from Efremov, Tula region of Russia. His 13-year-old daughter Maria made a drawing at school with inscriptions “No War” and “Glory to Ukraine” shortly after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After this drawing, the Moskalev family began to be persecuted.
A protocol for “discrediting” the Russian army was drawn up on Alexei, and then a criminal case was opened. In March 2023, Alexei Moskalev was placed under house arrest pending sentencing, and his daughter Maria was placed in an orphanage. However, just before sentencing – Alexei was sentenced to 2 years in a penal colony – Moskalev managed to escape. He left the territory of Russia, but was detained in Belarus and placed in the detention center in Zhodzina, where he awaits extradition.
Russian human rights activists and anti-war initiatives, as well as many residents of the Tula region and all of Russia, are speaking out in defense of the Moskalev family. This egregious case has also attracted the attention of the foreign media. The persecution of the family is purely political and demonstrative in nature, with the goal of intimidating dissenters. It violates both Russian law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Earlier, the Russian human rights organizations Memorial Human Rights Center and the OVD-Info media project asked the European Commission and the Council of Europe to use available means to prevent the extradition of Moskalyov from Belarus to the Russian authorities and to secure his transfer to a third country that would be safe and ready to receive him.
We, the undersigned anti-war and civic initiatives, are in solidarity with the request of “Memorial” and “OVD-Info” and ask the European Commission, the Council of Europe and members of the European Parliament to urgently use available means to prevent the extradition of Moskalev from Belarus to Russia and to ensure his transfer to a third, safe country.
Protection of human rights and civil liberties is one of the priorities of the European Union and the Council of Europe. Russian civil society hopes that European institutions will take decisive steps to support the Moskalev family.
Signed:
- Community of Civilian Anti-War and Humanitarian Initiatives
- Youth Democratic Movement Vesna
- Community Krakow for a Free Russia
- Movement Bydgoszcz for a Free Russia
- Community Katowice for a Free Russia
- Movement Poznan for a Free Russia
- Movement Wroclaw for a Free Russia
- Azure Alternative Art Group (Member of Voice of Free Russia)
- Movement Gdansk for a Free Russia
- The Spanish Association of Free Russians OLIVA
- Organization Russie-Libertés
- Organization Austausch e.V.
- School of Civil Education
- Comunità dei Russi Liberi
- Activist group Stuttgart, Germany
- Russian Democratic Society in Serbia
- Project Parus, Portugal
- Organization Free Russians eV Munich
- Project Kovcheg (The Ark)
- Project WFU World
- Sakharov movement “Peace. Progress. Human rights”
- Community Russia of the Future – Switzerland
- Media Switzerland for all
- Movement Wind of change
- Supporting media Poluchitsya (You can do it)
- Media Resonance
- Movement Media Partisans
- Project “ROSstraf (ROSfine)“
- Movement Golos razuma (The Voice of Reason)
- Russians Against War. Vilnius
- Movement Wake Up Russia
- Media Velvet Street
- Media NITKA
- Movement Antivoenny bolnichny (Anti-war sick leave)
- Anti-war committee in Sweden “Russians against war”
- Haifa anti-war group Svyaz
- Educational Initiative Frame, Tbilisi
- Russian Democratic Society London
- Demokrati-JA Community
- Feminist anti-war resistance
- Publication for students “Groza“
- SmåRådina: for democracy in Russia
- Democratic Community of Russian-speakers in Finland