Oleksandr Kolchenko

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Kolchenko in custody, 2015

Oleksandr Oleksandrowytsch Kolchenko ( Ukrainian Олександр Олександрович Кольченко , born November 26, 1989 in Simferopol , Crimea , Ukrainian SSR , Soviet Union ) is a Ukrainian activist who was arrested by Russian authorities and detained until September 2019.

In the course of the war in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea , Kolchenko and three other Ukrainians were arrested by the FSB and imprisoned in Russia . Kolchenko was accused of participating in the preparation of terrorist attacks . On September 7, 2019, he was released as part of a prisoner exchange.

Life

Kolchenko studied geography at the Vernadskyi National Tauride University in Simferopol . He campaigned against tuition fees and participated in student associations . During his studies he worked as a shipper in the post office and in a copy shop . He lived with his sister and mother in a small apartment in the Zagorodnyj district. Kolchenko was involved in many social causes. He was active in the anarchist and antifa movement, supported workers' rights for trolleybus drivers and took part in environmental events, for example he protested against the construction of an environmentally harmful deep-water port in Crimea.

According to his mother, he sympathized with the Euromaidan and advocated the territorial integrity of Ukraine. In 2014 he was involved in protests against the Russian annexation of Crimea. He was critical of left activists who, because of their opposition to the West, support Vladimir Putin , Russian imperialism and the self-proclaimed “People's Republics” DNR and LNR . He cited Borotba in Ukraine and Sergei Udalzow in Russia as examples .

Persecution and arrest

Kolchenko was arrested in Simferopol on May 16, 2014. He was accused of participating in a planned arson attack in the United Russia Party's office building on April 18, 2014 , and of being a member of a "terrorist group". The group of so-called “Crimean terrorists” includes, in addition to Kolchenko, the photographer Hennadij Afanasjew, the film director Oleh Sentsow and the historian Oleksij Tschirnij. According to the FSB , members of the group were also involved in the arson in another building on April 14. No person was injured in either of the attacks. The four men are also accused of having prepared a bomb attack on a Soviet memorial for May 9, 2014. On May 23, 2014, Kolchenko was taken to Moscow and imprisoned in Lefortovo Prison . He is also accused of belonging to the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist organization Pravyj Sector and of planning terrorist attacks.

In June 2015, the investigation into Kolchenko and Sentsov's criminal case was concluded and the case went to court. On July 31, 2015, hearings on the case began in the Rostov-on-Don Military Court . Kolchenko was on trial with Oleh Sentsov.

The charges against Kolchenko and Sentsov are mainly based on the statements of Chirniy and Afanasjew, who were arrested with Sentsov and Kolchenko. Tschirnij and Afanasyev refused to testify in the trial against Kolchenko and Sentsov. Afanasyev said that he gave his previous testimony under torture. Tschirnij and Afanasjew were sentenced to prison terms of seven years each in their own trial.

defense

Kolchenko denied all allegations of terrorism. He kept watch during the planned arson, but denied that his behavior should be classified as terrorism. According to Kolchenko's lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina from the human rights organization Agora, under Russian criminal law he could have been charged with arson, but not terrorism. The arson also took place during the night when those involved were sure that no one was in the building. According to the Kharkov human rights group and witnesses, the vandalized building is not an office building but a paramilitary base where pro-Ukrainian activists were held and the annexation of Crimea was coordinated. According to the human rights organization Memorial , similar attacks on party offices in Russia have so far been punished as arson or “hooliganism”, not terrorism.

Kolchenko also denied belonging to the Pravyj Sector organization. His political views contradict the positions of the organization. In an interview during his detention, he said that the Russian media need the Pravyj sector as a justification for annexation. "That is why we are assigned a membership of the Pravyj sector," said Kolchenko. The “Right Sector” announced in a letter that the four men labeled by Russian authorities as “Crimean terrorists” had nothing to do with the organization.

The Russian court denied Kolchenko and Sentsov consular assistance from Ukraine on the grounds that the men were Russian citizens. Neither Kolchenko nor Sentsov have applied for Russian passports, but after the annexation of Crimea, the rule applies that you automatically become a Russian citizen if you do not declare in writing within one month that you want to keep your Ukrainian citizenship.

Ukrainian authorities subsequently confirmed Kolchenko and Sentsov's Ukrainian citizenship and the Kiev public prosecutor opened a case of kidnapping Ukrainian nationals. According to Kolchenko's lawyer, he was issued a Russian passport on May 26, 2014 when he was already in captivity. Kolchenko turned to the European Court of Human Rights in protest against the forced Russian citizenship.

judgment

On August 25, 2015, the Russian Military Court sentenced Kolchenko to 10 years in prison. At the end of the verdict, Kolchenko sang the Ukrainian national anthem with Sentsov . Kolchenko's lawyer said she will challenge the judgment in the European Court of Human Rights.

In February 2016, the media reported that Kolchenko was being transferred to high security custody in Chelyabinsk on the Urals .

Reactions

The trial and verdict against Kolchenko and Sentsov have been criticized in Ukraine and internationally. Federica Mogherini announced that the European Union regards the trial of Kolchenko as a violation of international law and fundamental principles of justice. Russian courts are not empowered to judge events that take place outside of Russian territory, here in Crimea. The Federal Human Rights Commissioner , Christoph Strässer , and David Lidington of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office described the sentence as disproportionately high and politically motivated, while the State Department of the United States spoke of a clear misjudgment . The OSCE parliamentary assembly condemned the Russian actions in Ukraine and, in this context, also called for the immediate release of Kolchenko and other illegally detained Ukrainians.

The Russian human rights organization Memorial sees Kolchenko as a political prisoner . The Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'Homme (FIDH) and 16 other organizations spoke of a " show trial " aimed at intimidating all critics of the Russian presence in Crimea. Human Rights Watch also assumed that the verdict was intended to send a warning to critics of Russia in Crimea. Amnesty International described the Kolchenko trial as unjust and a violation of international humanitarian law .

Award

On September 24, 2015, Kolchenko was awarded the Order of Valor, First Class, for his commitment to constitutional rights and freedoms and the integrity of the Ukrainian state.

release

Kolchenko returns to Ukraine

On September 7, 2019, Kolchenko was released together with Oleh Sentsov and 33 other people as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia and brought to Kiev .

Web links

  1. Ukrainians Illegally Detained in Russia and in the occupied Crimea - List of Russian nationals detained in Russia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
  2. Solidarity campaign for Kolchenko

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Russian Military Trial of Ukrainian Director Sentsov Resumes. In: RFE / RL. Retrieved March 5, 2016 .
  2. ↑ List of people recognized as political prisoners by the Memorial Human Rights Center on September 15, 2015 . Memorial Human Rights Center, Oct. 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b c d e The long road to freedom for the Ukrainian activist from Crimea . In: Huffington Post , September 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Campaign of solidarity with Alexander Kolchenko continues . Autonomous action, June 16, 2015.
  5. ^ Kremlin's prisoners: Media tell of Ukrainians thrown into Russian dungeons . UNIAN, accessed July 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ a b c d The Memorial Human Rights Center considers Oleg Sentsov, Alexander Kolchenko and Gennady Afanasyev political prisoners . Memorial , August 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ a b c Alexander Litoy: The Crimean "terrorists" . In: openDemocarcy , September 15, 2014
  8. ↑ Julian Hans: Trial against Ukrainian director: How Russia intimidates dissenters . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 21, 2015.
  9. ^ Friedrich Schmidt: Judgment against Oleg Sentsow: With Soviet severity and arbitrariness . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , August 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ Shaun Walker: Ukrainian film-maker tells Russian court he will 'suffer or die' for his beliefs . In: The Guardian , August 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Halya Coynash: Sentsov-Kolchenko Trial: Crimea And What Russia Has To Hide . Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, August 19, 2015
  12. ↑ Julia Smirnova: In the clutches of Putin's arbitrary justice . In: Welt Online , July 21, 2015.
  13. ↑ Anna Gorduenko: Ukrainian director in Russia: Imprisonment camp for 20 years . In: the daily newspaper , August 25, 2015.
  14. ↑ Halya Coynash: Imprisoned Activist Crimean takes Russia to Strasbourg over forced citizenship . Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, April 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ Director Sentsow sentenced to 20 years in a prison camp . In: Zeit Online , August 25, 2015.
  16. ↑ Адвокаты хотят вернуть Сенцова и Кольченко на Украину . Радио Свобода, August 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Ukrainian Prisoners: Sentsov and Kolchenko convoyed to eastern Russia . In: UT , February 25, 2016.
  18. ^ Statement by High Representative / Vice-President Mogherini on the sentencing by a Russian court of Ukrainian citizens O. Sentsov and O. Kolchenko . European Union External Action, 25 August 2015.
  19. ^ Human rights commissioner for judgments against Sentsov and Kolchenko . Federal Foreign Office, August 26, 2015.
  20. ↑ Minister comments on sentencing of Oleg Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko . Foreign and Commonwealth Office, August 25, 2015.
  21. ^ Sentencing of Oleg Sentsov and Olexandr Kolchenko . US Department of State, August 25, 2015.
  22. ↑ OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopts resolution condemning Russia's continuing actions in Ukraine ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . OSCE PA, July 8, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oscepa.org
  23. ↑ Sentsov and Kolchenko trial: outrageous sentence, torture and rights violations: FIDH and its member organization ADC Memorial present Joint Press Release . ADC Memorial.
  24. ↑ Liberté pour Alexandr Koltchenko, antifasciste de Crimée, kidnappé et emprisonné par l'Etat russe . FIDH, March 19, 2015.
  25. ↑ Dispatches: Crimea - Keep Quiet or Else . Human Rights Watch, August 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ Ukraine 2015/2016 . Amnesty International.
  27. ↑ Указ президента Ураїни №556 / 2015: Про нагородження орденом «За мужність» . Official website of the President of Ukraine, September 24, 2015.
  28. ↑ With the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, there are new hopes for Donbass. The New Zurich Times.
personal data
SURNAME Kolchenko, Oleksandr
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kolchenko, Oleksandr Oleksandrovytsch (full name); Кольченко, Олександр Олександрович (Ukrainian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ukrainian activist
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1989
PLACE OF BIRTH Simferopol