Grigory Pasko: Journalist Andrey Novikov to Request Political Asylum

Independent journalist from Russia Andrey Novikov intends to ask for political asylum By Grigory Pasko, journalist Andrei Novikov, independent journalist, was detained on 5 December 2006 in the city of Rybinsk of Yaroslavl Oblast. Officially, the reason for bringing him to criminal liability became two unpublished electronic letters, in which the procuracy discerned a violation of item 1 of article 280 of the Criminal Code of the RF (“public calls for the implementation of extremist activity”). Andrei Novikov (photo by Grigory Pasko)

The first time, Andrei sat locked up in compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital in Yaroslavl for 43 days. Then they let him out for a short time. Soon they locked him up again. Only on 18 December of this year did he come out of the Rybinsk psychiatric hospital. All in all, the man spent a total of 11 months in compulsory medical confinement. In the opinion of independent experts, Andrei is not mentally ill. He is regarded as such by the Russian state as represented by the procuracy, the FSB, certain doctors…For nearly a year, they injected Andrei Novikov with various injections, which have a detrimental effect on the organism.I met with him on 20 December, on the day of the 90th anniversary of the organs of security of Russia. At my request, Andrei told about everything that had happened with him in the past few years. At the end of the interview, he said: “I ask the public, to the extent that this is possible, to monitor my situation. I likewise appeal to western states: if there is a possibility – to grant me political asylum. In Russia my existence has become impossible. It will be very difficult for me to engage in free activity, independent journalism, in the Putinite regime. I will be constantly subjected to repressions. Especially after the «United Russia» party will adopt a new law on psychiatry, under which the procedure for sending a person to a hospital will be simplified…”Understanding the full import of the given declaration, we have decided to post this declaration on our blog.Read the full interview with Andrei in the nearest future.