DISINFO: Germany and France's support to the paedophile, convicted by Russian independent court, is unacceptable
SUMMARY
The appeal of France and Germany to release historian Yuri Dmitriev is interference in Russia’s internal affairs. The latter has just been sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexual violence against his adopted daughter. We view the move by Germany and France as an act of interference in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation and an attempt to challenge a decision taken by independent courts of the Russian Federation. His previous activities have nothing to do with it. No one doubts these records of service in research on political repressions in the USSR, his conviction is a question which falls exclusively under criminal law. Appeals launched by Berlin and Paris aimed at freeing Yuri Dmitriev, convicted for pedophilia, are unacceptable from a moral and ethical point of view. Dmitriev’s affair dates back 4 years. He was first arrested in 2016, and was accused of making pornographic images of his adopted daughter. Acquitted two years later, he returns once again to the dock following a letter from his adopted daughter, where she details her ordeal. It evoked verbal and physical violence including sexual as well as weekly photo sessions. On the eve of the announcement of the verdict, several photos of them which appeared in the investigation leaked to the press, causing outrage on Russian social networks.
RESPONSE
Yuri Dmitriev is a "respected historian known for his uncompromising investigation and documenting of mass graves of the victims of Soviet repression in 1937-38 and Chairman of the Karelia branch of Memorial Historical Society in the Russian Federation," - according to the EU, and the pedophilia charges brought against him appear to have been prompted by his human rights work. The closed trial on Yuri Dmitiev, who pleaded not guilty to producing pornographic pictures or sexual violence, was accompanied by a smear campaign. Recently, Russian State TV said: "Yuri Dmitriev did not find any Stalinist mass graves. He also did not prepare lists of victims of Stalinist repressions attributed to him. He has never been a human rights activist. A completely false image was created of him". The trial on Dmitriev has been accompanied with a years-long campaign to blur the memory about Stalin's terror. In summer 2020, the Russian "Military - Historical Society" concluded that GULAG mass graves found by Dmitriev may also be graves of Russian prisoners of war killed by Finns - a claim that has been refuted by Finnish and Russian historians and experts repeatedly. Dmitrev is not portrayed as a historian, but a locksmith and stoker in one of the numerous similar reports. The justice system in Russia is not independent. "The criminal justice system is still set up to deliver guilty verdicts and acquittals are perceived as the system's failure", - says Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. Amid such circumstances, the NGO Memorial declared Yuri Dmitriev a political prisoner and for any appeals to look closer at the investigation are understandable from a moral point of view. The Russian State ombudsman herself asked for access to the case of Dmitriev. According to his lawyer, Dmitirev plans to appeal. See also: There is a liberal pedophile lobby behind Dmitriev who has never been a human rights activist.