A criminal case was opened against a Kemerovo human rights activist arrested in a case of extortion on the creation of an AUE cell in a pre-trial detention center

Vladimir Taranenko, coordinator of the human rights organization Siberia Legal, who was arrested in a case of extortion, said that a new criminal case had been opened against him. About it writes publication “Siberia.Realities”.

In a conversation with a correspondent of the publication before the start of the meeting of the Kirovsky District Court of Kemerovo, Taranenko noted that he was suspected of creating a cell of the AUE organization, banned in Russia. The investigation believes that he allegedly organized a cell in the Kemerovo SIZO-1. At the same time, Taranenko himself emphasized that he had nothing to do with either the AUE or criminal communities.

The lawyer of the human rights activist Aleksey Radaev told Sibir.Realii that his client was declared a supporter of the AUE because he defends his rights in the pre-trial detention center.

Vladimir Taranenko and another coordinator of Sibir Legal, Dmitry Kamynin, were arrested in February 2021. Taranenko was charged with extortion, while Kamynin was charged with drug trafficking. Both human rights activists deny guilt and link the criminal prosecution with human rights activities.

In February last year, Taranenko was transferred to the punishment cell of the Kemerovo SIZO-1. According to him, there he was bullied by employees of the institution.

In early January of this year, Dmitry Kamynin, who spent a year in a pre-trial detention center, detained immediately after leaving the isolation room. Now he is accused of extortion in 2017.