The Paris City Hall awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city to human rights activist Oleg Orlov and politician Ilya Yashin. Memorial reports this.
As human rights activists write, deputies of the Paris City Hall unanimously supported the candidacies of Orlov and Yashin. The title of honorary citizen of Paris has been awarded for more than 20 years to those who lead the “struggle for democracy, respect for human rights and freedom.”
“Courage in the face of repression by the Putin regime deserves recognition and support. As the capital of human rights, we reaffirm our solidarity with Russian civil society, which is courageously resisting authoritarianism and war in Ukraine,” Deputy Mayor of Paris Jean Luc Romero-Michel said at the meeting.
Politician Ilya Yashin is now in Smolensk IK-3. In December 2022, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in the case of military “fakes” (clause “e” of part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The reason for the persecution was a stream during which Yashin spoke about the murders of Bucha residents by the Russian military.
71-year-old human rights activist Oleg Orlov was also tried because of anti-war statements. Initially, in the case of “discrediting” the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) due to an anti-war article, he was sentenced to a fine, but in February 2024 the punishment was replaced by two and a half years in prison. Orlov is now in a pre-trial detention center, awaiting an appeal against the verdict. While in custody, the human rights activist's health deteriorated.