Dmitry Prokhorenko is a political prisoner
A Rostelecom employee has been sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment on charges of sabotage and treason
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Dmitry Prokhorenko a political prisoner. Prokhorenko was convicted on charges of sabotage and treason for setting fire to a railway relay cabinet and for passing information about a military unit to the Free Russia Legion. Prokhorenko’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand that his conviction be quashed, the charge of treason be dropped and that a retrial be held on the charge of sabotage.
What were the charges against Dmitry Prokhorenko?
Dmitry Prokhorenko, from the city of Surazh in Bryansk Oblast, worked at a Rostelecom service centre and was detained on 23 January 2023. According to the law enforcement agencies, Prokhorenko, who opposed the war against Ukraine, had contacted the Free Russia Legion and, at their instigation, first passed on information about a military unit to which he had access because of his work, and then set fire to a railway relay cabinet.
Prokhorenko was initially charged with sabotage (Article 281, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and then treason (Article 275 CC RF).
On 30 January 2024, Dmitry Prokhorenko was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment, of which the first 30 months are to be served in a cell-type prison, and the remainder in a strict regime penal colony.
Why do we consider Dmitry Prokhorenko a political prisoner?
Even if Dmitry Prokhorenko did correspond with the Free Russia Legion in order to support Ukraine, his actions did not constitute a crime. The offence of treason requires there to be a threat to Russia’s security, but Russia is threatened by its own military aggression, not by opposition to it. From the point of view of international law, the Russian Federation’s military actions against Ukraine are illegal and criminal, while Ukraine’s actions in defending itself are legal and justified.
When Prokhorenko set fire to the railway relay cabinet, he did not set out to ‘undermine the economic security and defence capability of the Russian Federation,’ as required by the offence of sabotage. His goal was to counter Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Prokhorenko’s actions were wrongly classified in law and the degree of danger they presented to the public was in no way commensurate with the severity of his punishment.
A detailed description of Dmitry Prokhorenko’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Dmitry Prokhorenko at the following address:
RU:
156023, г. Кострома, ул. Петра Щербины, д. 21, ФКУ ИК-1 УФСИН России по Костромской области, Прохоренко Дмитрий Александрович, 1997 г. р.
EN:
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Prokhorenko (born 1997), Penal Colony No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Kostroma Oblast, 21 Petra Scherbiny Street, Kostroma, 156023, Russia.
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