Ufa activist Rustem Mulyukov, who was sentenced today to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the same case with Lilia Chanysheva, did not appear for the announcement of the verdict. Idel.Realii writes about this. Mulyukov himself told the publication that he was not going to leave Russia.
According to the activist, he was shocked by the court's verdict. Mulyukov, 46, says that the imprisonment threatens his life, since he is a group I disabled person, he needs to go to hemodialysis three times a week.
“I knew that this court is not distinguished by its decency, but to be so bloodthirsty is not in any framework. I also believe that the court is under pressure from above in connection with the armed conflict [in Ukraine], and therefore they imprison all decent citizens.”
According to Mulyukov, the indictment states that he worked at Navalny's headquarters for only two months. In addition, he left this “extremist community” back in 2017 and was sure that the criminal prosecution for this episode would be stopped. The activist said that he would appeal the verdict and hopes to at least replace the real term with a suspended one.
Mulyukov explained his absence from the announcement of the verdict by his unwillingness to "take part in this disgusting situation." He cannot leave the country for health reasons, and besides, he does not want to do this.
As Idel.Realii wrote earlier, in 2010, Rustem Mulyukov was convicted of fraud in a case that he called fabricated, and spent some time in custody. As his mother told, Mulyukov, who was engaged in the construction business at that time, refused to give bribes to officials, and therefore criminal prosecution was organized for him. The woman noted that after this story, her son became interested in political activism.
In 2015-2017, Mulyukov worked as an election observer. After the activist spoke at a rally organized by Navalny's headquarters, he was charged with "incitement" to a violent change of regime. In 2019, Mulyukov was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Two years later, the activist was among the defendants in a criminal case initiated by the Main Investigation Department of the ICR against FBK employees. He was charged with "participation in an extremist community" and a preventive measure was chosen in the form of a ban on certain actions.
Then the case against Mulyukov was separated into a separate proceeding and combined with the case of the former coordinator of Navalny's headquarters in Ufa, Lilia Chanysheva. The activist was charged with the same speech at the rally, which this time was qualified as calls for extremism. A source from Idel.Realii, who is familiar with the course of the investigation, said that the case against Mulyukov was opened and merged with the Chanysheva case only to add one more charge to her – about calls for extremist activities.