According to a report by "Memorial" on May 5, Alexander Chernyshov, a member of the organization's Perm branch, was detained at the border while trying to leave Russia. He has been charged with hooliganism and taken to court for a preventive measure.
Alexander Chernyshov, a member of "Memorial" in Perm, was detained by authorities at Sheremetyevo airport while en route to Istanbul. Upon arrival, an OVD-Info lawyer was unable to locate Chernyshov for several hours until it was revealed that he had been charged with hooliganism and was being taken to Khimki court by the police.
The reasons behind the detention remain unclear, but some human rights activists speculate that it may be related to archive documents from the dissolved Perm branch that were moved to Moscow by its members. In March 2023, Chernyshov and other activists were subjected to a search, but were not informed of any charges.
The Memorial human rights center was dissolved by a court order at the end of 2021, just two months before the onset of the Ukraine war. Following this, representatives of the organization in Moscow and other regions faced increased pressure. In December 2022, the Yekaterinburg mayor's office evicted the human rights activists from their office, forcing them to relocate to another building. Shortly thereafter, a car near the new office caught fire.
Three months later, the Orenburg Cossack Troops requested that the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs investigate the Yekaterinburg office for discrediting the military, prompted by two articles published on the regional Memorial's website on February 24, 2022, and then exactly one year later. Cossack colonel Yegor Kislyakov specifically requested a separate probe into the activities of the organization's chairman, Alexei Mosin.
In March 2023, criminal proceedings were initiated against Oleg Orlov, the chairman of the Memorial human rights center, and his colleagues, after he was charged with repeatedly discrediting the army. They were subsequently subjected to a search.
