Free Mikhail Benyash, Investigate Allegations of Police Ill-Treatment
Police in Krasnodar, in southern Russia, arrested a defense lawyer, held him incommunicado, and beat him in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately release the lawyer, Mikhail Benyash, and investigate allegations of his ill-treatment while in police custody. Authorities should also drop the politically motivated charges against him.
Police arrested Benyash in Krasnodar on September 9, 2018, as he was meeting with a client who was going to take part in protests against the government’s plans to raise the pension age. Protests were held that day in 39 Russian cities, including Krasnodar.
Benyash has represented people arrested in other protests in southern Russia. Human Rights Watch has found that law enforcement has cracked downthroughout 2018 on unauthorized protests and people associated with them. Benyash’s lawyer, Alexey Avanesyan, told Human Rights Watch that Benyash arrived in Krasnodar from Sochi a day before the unauthorized protest to provide legal assistance to protesters in case they were arrested.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/04/russia-defense-lawyer-arrested-beaten
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