Russian activist jailed for 10 years for organizing 2020 protest against lockdown

RFE/RL
Tue, 19 Jul 2022 17:58 UTC

© VK/VadimCheldiyev

Vadim Cheldiyev

A court in Russia's southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced opera singer Vadim Cheldiyev to 10 years in prison for his role in organizing a massive rally against anti-coronavirus restrictions in the entertainer's native North Ossetia region in 2020.

Comment: He was an opera singer. He quit to return to his hometown of Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, in 2019, to open a charity for the poor. Russian state security must have had an eye on him since then because this video report about his charitable turn mentions that he was 'interviewed about his political beliefs' in 2019.

The Rostov regional court on July 19 also sentenced co-defendants Ramis Chirkinov and Arsen Besolov to eight and 8 1/2 years in prison, respectively.

Cheldiyev was found guilty of the distribution of false information about the pandemic, extremism, hooliganism, organization of mass disorder, and attacking a law enforcement officer.

His co-defendants were convicted of organizing an unsanctioned rally and mass disorder.

The trio went on trial in October 2021. All three pleaded not guilty.

On April 20, 2020, police in Russia's North Caucasus region of North Ossetia detained dozens of protesters when about 2,000 people gathered in the central square of the regional capital, Vladikavkaz, demanding the resignation of then-regional leader Vyacheslav Bitarov, accusing him of "unnecessary anti-COVID restrictions."

The rally was violently dispersed by police.

The protest was initiated online by Cheldiyev, who was living in St. Petersburg at the time.

Cheldiyev was detained in St. Petersburg after the rally in Vladikavkaz and brought to North Ossetia, where he was arrested and charged.

Dozens of participants in the 2020 protest have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms at separate trials since last year.

Comment: From The Moscow Times:

Vadim Cheldiyev in April 2020 posted a video calling on people to attend a planned protest against Covid-19 restrictions in Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia's republic of North Ossetia, over concerns that the lockdown would cost many local jobs. The baritone was detained shortly after and initially charged with spreading "fakes" about the pandemic.

A court in the southern Rostov region on Tuesday found Cheldiyev guilty of spreading calls for unauthorized mass protests and sentenced him to 10 years in a maximum-security prison.

About 1,000 people gathered for the April 2020 protest in Vladikavkaz, despite the lockdown measures, to demand local authorities' resignation and Cheldiyev's release from custody.

Seeing that both RFE/RL and The Moscow Times are Western propaganda mouthpieces, one might wonder if there is more to the story than a passionate local activist being hounded for his beliefs.

10 years for organizing a protest is obviously way too harsh. But the location of this protest may be a clue; one of Russia's 'trouble spots' that Western agents tend to exploit.

Was this particular protest linked with such agents?