• Tweeter

  • republish

Pavel Oustinov at the Moscow court on September 16, 2019. REUTERS / Evgenia Novozhenina

Following protests this summer in Russia by the opposition, a 23-year-old actor was sentenced Monday (September 16th) to three and a half years in prison for violence against a member of the police.

With our correspondent in Moscow, Étienne Bouche

Pavel Ustinov was arrested by police on August 3 in Moscow while there was a demonstration unauthorized by the municipality. The violence of his arrest had shocked defenders of human rights and his condemnation provoked outrage. The Russian organization Memorial sees him as a "political prisoner". Many personalities from the cultural and media world now bring him public support.

The day of his arrest, Pavel Oustinov says he was not taking part in the demonstration led by the opposition. A version that seems to confirm a video widely relayed on the internet. The young man then calmly wait near a metro station before being violently stopped by several police officers, thrown to the ground and beaten with truncheons.

The support of several personalities

Pavel Ustinov will be 24 years old at the end of the year. He is a comedian, graduated from a recognized drama school, with the support of the director, the famous director Konstantin Raïkine.

This Tuesday, September 17th, several personalities of the world of the culture were indignant of this condemnation. Prominent actors like Alexandre Pal or Irina Gorbacheva, but also heavyweights of show business such as singer Sergei Lazarev, or even Maxime Galkine, one of the most famous TV hosts in the country.

In a noteworthy speech, star blogger Yuri Doud recently called on public figures to break out of their traditional reserve. For the opposition and its supporters, speaking out against arbitrariness is absolutely necessary. It was after an unprecedented mobilization that in June, a journalist unfairly accused of drug trafficking was released.