Russian Authorities Detain Grad Student From Kazakhstan

We reached Yulia Kucherenko, his mother, who said on May 19 that the charges are based on transcripts of her son's statements during public meetings of the Worker Power organization, which were uploaded to an online folder and can be regularly edited.

“I learned about his detention on May 15, when a court-assigned lawyer called me. He said that Harry needed to be persuaded to fully admit his guilt. My son refused his services and hired another, independent lawyer,” Kucherenko, who lives in Karaganda, told Vlast.

That same day, she contacted the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in St. Petersburg, where she submitted son’s details and ID. Kucherenko did not receive further updates. She also did not receive any communication from the Russian authorities.

On Friday evening, the Krasnogvardeisky District Court of St. Petersburg ordered that Azaryan be kept in custody until July 14, pending a trial. According to investigators, he “publicly justified” the seizure of power and mass murder in Russia. The student could face up to seven years in prison. Azaryan does not admit his guilt.

Kucherenko emphasized that she was given little information about the arrest and its reasons. While perusing Russian media, she saw a photo of the door to his dorm room “smashed” and printed copies of the Worker Power manifesto on his bed.

But the leaflets are not the issue. Azaryan is being charged with “supporting terrorism” under Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code for keeping online copies of statements made during the organization’s public meetings.

“Russian media publications say that someone infiltrated into the organization, making transcripts and recordings of meetings. My son spoke at one event. But these meetings are neither ‘underground’, nor ‘terrorist’. They are an open discussion platform. They invited people to join via their Telegram channel,” Azaryan’s mother explained.

Kucherenko noted that the accusations are based on transcripts uploaded to Google Drive, which the Russian authorities consider a public source of information. However, Google Drive is a private storage service and access to that folder was not public.

“They can’t argue that this was an online call for terrorism. Plus, these transcripts could have been manipulated,” Kucherenko said.

According to Kucherenko, the organization “Worker Power” was never involved in calls for violation of public order or extremist actions. Its participants brought attention to the detentions of Russian citizens for political activism and environmental actions, while discussing social issues and working class culture.

“Worker Power’ is a platform for discussions of theoretical nature. The group had no specific actions, plans, or weapons. These are young people that only discuss Marxism, Leninism, and other theories. There is no crime here. Unless you say that the mere dream of the death of capitalism and the construction of socialism is a call for terrorism,” Kucherenko said.

Kucherenko noted that Russian media portrayed the arrest as if her son was already convicted. In a court report that she saw, Azaryan was presented as an emarginated unemployed who does not have any social connections in Russia, except for his father, who lives there.

“But this is not true. He is a graduate student. Yes, he does not have a permanent job, but he receives help from his parents. He studies, writes articles, participates in scientific conferences. He tries to do social work and is very passionate about it,” Kucherenko said.

Currently, Kucherenko does not have access to her son’s case files and she does not yet understand whether she can obtain it. She is now studying Russia’s Criminal Procedure Code of Russia, trying to understand under what conditions she, as a parent, can be appointed a legal representative. She also hopes for assistance from Kazakhstani and international human rights organizations.

UPDATE: Tatiana Chernobil, a consultant on international human rights law, told Vlast that the legal provision "on propaganda, justification, calls for terrorism" is used in Russia to also suppress dissent. Its vague wording allows the authorities to prosecute virtually anyone whose public statements are undesirable. Foreign citizens are also likely to be held accountable under this provision. Chernobil believes it is necessary for Kazakhstan's ministry of foreign affairs to actively monitor the progress of the case, be present in court and promptly respond to possible procedural violations through diplomatic measures.

"Being a neutral observer is not enough. We need to use the full range of diplomatic mechanisms: Attending court hearings, sending official inquiries, and engaging independent observers. And should there be violations, we must express dissent or take other diplomatic steps. There is simply no other way to protect the rights of our citizens in someone else's repressive process," Chernobil said.