05 December 2013, 19:22
HRW calls on Russian authorities to drop charges against Mikhail Savva
Russian authorities have transferred Professor Mikhail Savva, a Krasnodar activist and director of grant programmes of the Southern Regional Resource Centre (SRRC), from custody under home arrest; however, they should drop the politically motivated charges against him, says the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mikhail Savva was detained on April 12, 2013; on April 13 by a court ruling he was placed behind bars. On December 4, Mr Savva was placed under home arrest.
According to the HRW, "Mikhail Savva has told the court and his lawyer that the authorities had threatened him with accusation of treason, which indicates the presence of political motives in his alleged fraud case."
According to Rachel Denber, the HRW's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, "state security agents have determined to make Savva an image of a new 'enemy' – an activist who has regular contacts with foreigners." This will inevitably have a negative impact on the work of other activists, believes the human rights activist.
Earlier Professor Savva criticized the actions of law enforcers, who carried out checks of a number of NPOs in Southern Russia.
