If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
A FSB investigator and NTV reporters have pressured Yelena, mother of Ilya Shakursky, one of the nine young men charged so far in the so-called Network case, as reported in a communique by the Parents Network, a committee of relatives of the young men, who have been accused of involvement in a “terrorist community,” allegedly codenamed The Network.
The FSB investigator summoned Shakursky’s mother and suggested she give an interview to NTV, promising her it would “count towards [her son’s sentence] at the trial.” However, he told her she must tell the reporters Shakursky was, in fact, a member of The Network and under no circumstances mention that her son and the other young male defendants had simply gotten together to play airsoft.
The NTV crew, accompanied by the FSB investigator, came to Yelena’s house and filmed the interview, finishing at eleven in the evening. Yelena told Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the Movement for Human Rights, what happened.
According to Yelena, the NTV reporters were curious not only about Shakursky’s involvement in the alleged organization but also in her own interactions with human rights defenders. They insisted she say on camera that human rights defenders had made promises to her and tried to persuade her to do something.
The Parents Network communique quoted Yelena’s statement.
“I am in such a state. I am constantly in tears. I start to swear, then I calm down. They asked leading questions. I couldn’t get my bearings and give them normal answers. I swore and I cried. I really don’t know what they filmed. They picked my weakest moments.”
Before leaving, the NTV film crew warned they would be telephoning Yelena to clarify certain details. The communique from the Parents Network claimed she planned to demand NTV not broadcast the interview.
Yelena also recounted that the investigator handling Shakursky’s case had been constantly trying to persuade her of her son’s guilt.
“He sits there and says, ‘Your son is guilty, your son is guilty.’ He says all the evidence is against him. I’m so utterly confused. I realize I can’t be friendly with him, because they tortured my son, but on the other hand, I’m afraid, and again I’m under their thumb. I’m afraid he will be sent down for nothing.”
Yelena asked the Parents Network to go public with her story. She also asked that they quote her statement.
“If anything happens to me or Ilya, the people holding my son and pressuring both him and me will be the ones to blame.”
If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
This post is also available in: Русский (Russian)
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: