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Trial of human-rights lawyer will be monitored

The trial of Ivan Pavlov, the lawyer for Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, will be monitored by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) in partnership with the Clooney Foundation for Justice's TrialWatch.

The Russian human-rights lawyer, who is well-known for his defence of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, has been charged with leaking information to the local press about his client Ivan Safronov, a former journalist charged with treason.

Accusations

The authorities accuse him of sharing a copy of his client’s charging order, and of disclosing the pseudonym of the prosecution’s secret witness.

TrialWatch is an initiative of the Clooney Foundation for Justice. Its mission is to expose injustice, help to free those unjustly detained, and promote the rule of law around the world.

Pavlov was detained days after the prosecutor’s office announced they wanted to outlaw groups linked to Alexei Navalny. As a condition of his release, he is not allowed to phone or email his children living abroad, including his 12-year-old daughter. Pavlov faces potential imprisonment and disbarment.

Expert assessment

IBAHRI director Baroness Helena Kennedy QC has been designated as the TrialWatch expert who will assess the fairness of the trial, and assign it a grade in line with international and regional human-rights standards.

This is the eighth trial monitored in Russia as part of TrialWatch, including the slander trial of Alexei Navalny, as well as proceedings against human-rights lawyer Mikhail Benyash.

CFJ and IBAHRI have called on the Russian authorities to ensure that any prosecution of Ivan Pavlov is not an effort to suppress his human-rights work and to respect Ivan Pavlov’s right to a fair trial.

Threatened

According to his colleagues, Pavlov was threatened by authorities before his arrest due to his work on behalf of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, raising fears that these new charges are politically motivated.

In an open letter of support for Ivan Pavlov, other Russian lawyers said that they had no doubt that his detention was related to his professional activities.

Pavlov is also the founder of ‘Team 29’, an organisation of lawyers and journalists advocating for access to information for Russians.