The court did not return the case against Sakhalin human rights activist Mark Kuperman to the prosecutor. He is accused of justifying terrorism.
Today, the First Eastern District Military Court held a closed preliminary hearing in Khabarovsk in the case against a Sakhalin human rights activist: 85-year-old Kuperman is accused of justifying terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code).
"All of the defense's motions were rejected. They included a request to return the case to the prosecutor and exclude certain evidence. But they were all rejected; the court decided it could consider them during the trial," Mark Alexandrovich told NeMoskva. "The next hearing was scheduled for March 18th in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk."
Previously, the human rights activist and his lawyer claimed that Mark Kuperman was not given sufficient time to review the case file. They also requested that several expert examinations and a psychological examination be excluded from the case file. The lawyers also insisted that the charges against him did not meet the definition of terrorism. However, the court found no violations in the timeframe for reviewing the case file, and deemed the remaining materials eligible for review during the main hearing.
The case file contains four volumes. Kuperman was accused of sending several friends a document titled "Gudkov's Speech," which allegedly revealed "a plan for Western involvement in regime change in Russia: a humanitarian occupation." The indictment states that this document advocated indicting senior Russian authorities involved in military aggression, repealing repressive laws, demonopolizing the economy, disbanding the National Guard, and other ideas. The FSB initially deemed this "extremist propaganda," but later reclassified the case as "terrorist propaganda."
Mark Kuperman has worked on Sakhalin since the 50s, leading the city of Okha and serving in the regional government. He was constantly involved in human rights advocacy, participating in the local Public Monitoring Commission (PMC), organizing events, and contributing to reports for the Moscow Helsinki Group. After an injury in 2012, he is unable to move independently; his wife, Galina Ivanovna, helps him with everything.
At the UN condemned persecution of the human rights activist and demanded that the criminal case be dropped. However, there was no response from Russian security forces.
Photo: Mark Kuperman with his wife Galina Ivanovna (NeMoskva).