{"id":34413,"date":"2025-01-16T16:08:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T13:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T02:41:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T23:41:29","slug":"my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/","title":{"rendered":"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project, in accordance with<\/strong> international standards<\/strong><\/a>, considers Aleksandr Neustroev a political prisoner. Neustroev has been convicted on a charge of \u2018hooliganism with the threat of violence motivated by hatred\u2019 for swearing at a schoolboy wearing a hat with the letter Z. Neustroev\u2019s criminal prosecution and conviction violate his right to a fair trial. We demand Aleksandr Neustroev\u2019s immediate release and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What were the charges against Aleksandr Neustroev?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 21 April 2023, Neustroev saw an 11-year-old boy wearing a hat with the letter Z, the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and began scolding him, saying he wished to speak to the boy\u2019s parents. The boy\u2019s father was a soldier stationed in Ukraine; his mother filed a police report, claiming Neustroev had tried to grab her son. However, the alleged actions were not captured on the nearby security camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, Neustroev was charged with \u2018petty hooliganism,\u2019 but a criminal case was later opened against him for \u2018hooliganism with the threat of violence motivated by political hatred\u2019 (Article 213, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code). The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, announced he was personally supervising the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 9 June 2023, at the request of the investigators, the court closed the case on grounds of Neustroev\u2019s \u2018genuine remorse\u2019 and imposed a fine of 7,000 roubles for procedural violations. Pro-government media reacted with outrage at this decision, and it was criticised by Russian State Duma deputies Vitaly Milonov, Aleksandr Khinshtein, and Yelena Yampolskaya. The prosecutor\u2019s office appealed the ruling, and the case was sent for a retrial. On 10 June 2024, another judge sentenced Aleksandr Neustroev to three years in a low-security penal colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we consider Aleksandr Neustroev a political prisoner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe there was no evidence to convict Neustroev of the crime of hooliganism as charged. Firstly, the claim that he threatened the boy with violence, in our view, is not supported by either the video footage or witness statements. Moreover, we believe that if there had been actual violence on Neustroev\u2019s part, a different charge would have been used against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, the charge of hooliganism based on \u2018political hatred towards a social group, namely, \u201cparticipants in the Special Military Operation,\u201d\u2019 is one often used arbitrarily to escalate charges against those with dissenting views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe Neustroev\u2019s actions should be treated not as a crime, but as an administrative-law offence \u2013 \u2018petty hooliganism,\u2019 which was indeed the initial decision of the investigation and then of the court. However, interventions by lawmakers and pro-government media, in a clear illustration of the political nature of the case, led to Neustroev\u2019s imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we do not condone rudeness towards a minor, we believe Aleksandr Neustroev\u2019s actions do not constitute a criminal offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A detailed description of Aleksandr Neustroev\u2019s case and of our position is available on our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can write a letter to Aleksandr Neustroev at the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Russian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

623148, \u0421\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0434\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u043e\u0431\u043b., \u0433. \u041f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043e\u0443\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a, \u0434\u0435\u0440. \u0421\u0442\u0430\u0440\u044b\u0435 \u0420\u0435\u0448\u0451\u0442\u044b, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u041a\u041f-66 \u0413\u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u0421\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0434\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438, \u041d\u0435\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0443 \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0443 \u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0443 1966 \u0433. \u0440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In English:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aleksandr Yevgenievich Neustroev (born 1966), Penal Settlement No. 66, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Sverdlovsk Oblast, Starye Reshyoty village, Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk  Oblast, 623148, Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also send an e-mail via ZT<\/a> (for payments with Russian cards), OVD-Info<\/a> and Memorial-France<\/a> (free of charge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can donate<\/a> to help all political prisoners in Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23954,"template":"","class_list":["post-34413","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-sverdlovsk-oblast","news-type-nashi-novosti-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T23:41:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/\",\"name\":\"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-16T13:08:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T23:41:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg\",\"width\":1540,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"\u0432 \u0421\u0418\u0417\u041e\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/\",\"name\":\"\u041f\u043e\u0434\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0437\u0430\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445. \u041c\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0430\u043b\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","description":"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","og_description":"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine","og_url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/","og_site_name":"Political prisoners support. Memorial","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T23:41:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1540,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/","name":"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-16T13:08:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T23:41:29+00:00","description":"A construction worker from Yekaterinburg has been sentenced to three years in a low-security penal colony for making a comment to a boy wearing a hat with the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sizo_site-3.jpg","width":1540,"height":600,"caption":"\u0432 \u0421\u0418\u0417\u041e"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-aleksandra-neustroeva\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430","item":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438","item":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Aleksandr Neustroev is a political prisoner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/","name":"\u041f\u043e\u0434\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0437\u0430\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445. \u041c\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0430\u043b","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}