Andrei Kulievich, Nikolai Lagutin, Valentin Khoroshaev and Daniil Reshetnichenko are political prisoners
Opponents of Russia’s occupation of Crimea have been sentenced to terms of up to seven and a half years in a strict-regime penal colony on trumped-up charges of preparing a terrorist attack
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project , in accordance with international standards, considers Andrei Kulievich, Nikolai Lagutin, Valentin Khoroshaev and Daniil Reshetnichenko as political prisoners. The four have been prosecuted and convicted on charges of preparing an act of terrorism, making calls to engage in terrorism, possessing weapons, and manufacturing explosive devices on account of their pro-Ukrainian views. Their criminal convictions have violated their right to fair trial and the evidence against them would appear to have been falsified. We demand the immediate release of Andrei Kulievich, Nikolai Lagutin, Valentin Khoroshaev and Daniil Reshetnichenko. All criminal charges against them must be dropped and allegations that they were tortured must be investigated.
Who are Kulievich, Lagutin, Khoroshaev and Reshetnichenko, and what were the charges against them?
On 10 June 2020, the FSB reported it had allegedly prevented an explosion at a market in Simferopol, Crimea. Media organisations published videos of searches of the homes of several pro-Ukrainian Crimeans from various cities. Reports said that in the course of the searches, the security forces seized weapons, explosives, phones with correspondence, and propaganda leaflets. Andrei Kulievich from Sevastopol, Nikolai Lagutin from Bilohirsk, Valentin Khoroshaev from Simferopol, and Daniil Reshetnichenko from Saky were detained and remanded in custody.
Kulievich, Lagutin and Khoroshaev were accused of manufacturing explosive devices and possessing explosives, a pistol, and ammunition (Article 223.1, Part 2; Article 222.1, Part 2; Article 222, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code) and making preparations for a terrorist act (Article 30, Part 1, CC RF in conjunction with Article 205). In addition, all three together with Reshetnichenko were charged with making calls to engage in terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 1). The four men allegedly put up leaflets in the cities where they lived with calls to return Crimea to Ukraine and to kill Putin and Kadyrov to ‘save Russia.’
On 16 June 2023, a military court handed down terms of imprisonment to Kulievich (seven years and six months), Khoroshaev (seven years and three months), and Lagutin (seven years), of which the first four years are to be spent in cell-type prisons and the rest in strict-regime penal colonies. Reshetnichenko was sentenced to two years in a penal colony.
None of the four pleaded guilty. All stated that the physical evidence (phones with correspondence about alleged intentions to commit a terrorist act, as well as explosives, explosive devices, a pistol with ammunition and leaflets) had been planted on them during the searches. The defendants claimed they had been tortured, but the Investigative Committee refused to investigate these allegations.
Why do we consider the four men political prisoners?
The prosecution failed to present convincing evidence of preparation of a terrorist act. Evidence for the guilt of the defendants consisted of items FSB officers ‘discovered’ in their homes. Those searches were carried out with violations of the law, and the defendants and their families were given no opportunity to monitor the actions of the law enforcement officers. The taking of biological samples from the defendants and their comparison with samples from the seized items took place in the absence of lawyers. Moreover, the court refused to permit an independent forensic examination. All this gives reason to believe that the items in question were planted, and the finding of the alleged ‘biological traces’ of the accused was in fact also a set-up by the FSB.
The sequence of events proposed by the investigative authorities seems illogical. Allegedly, a few days before the planned terrorist attack, the defendants had put up leaflets calling for an uprising against the occupiers. In other words, the defendants intended to kill Crimeans in whom they saw potential allies.
The court, as in many other similar cases, accepted as evidence the testimony of FSB operatives, as well as that of classified witnesses. Such practices, which facilitate the fabrication of evidence and limit the right of the accused to a defence, should be inadmissible.
At the same time, the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses placed particular emphasis on the political views of the young people: their strong rejection of the annexation of Crimea, their participation in protests in support of Ukraine, and their critical attitude toward the Russian authorities. It is noteworthy that among the witnesses who, as passers-by, ‘accidentally saw’ the leaflets in the street late at night was Aleksander Pirogov, who in 2014 helped the FSB fabricate charges against the film director Oleh Sentsov.
The case against Kulievich, Lagutin, Khoroshaev and Reshetnichenko was wholly fabricated. It is yet one more episode in the persecution of Crimean residents who oppose Russia’s occupation of the peninsula.
A detailed description of the case and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
You can write to letters to the following address:
In Russian:
346408, Ростовская область, г. Новочеркасск, ул. Украинская, д. 1, ФКУ СИЗО-3 УФСИН России по Ростовской области,
- Кулиевичу Андрею Ярославовичу 2000 г. р.
- Лагутину Николаю Николаевичу 2001 г. р.
- Хорошаеву Валентину Андреевичу 2002 г. р.
In English:
- Andrei Yaroslavovich Kulievich (born 2000)
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Lagutin (born 2001)
- Valentin Andreevich Khoroshaev (born 2002)
Remand Prison No. 3, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Rostov Oblast, 1 Ukrainskaya Street, Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, 346408, Russia.
You can also send emails via ZT (for payment with Russian bank cards) or OVD-Info (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.
You can donate to support all political prisoners in Russia.
