Dmitry Bogmut, an engineer from St. Petersburg, was sentenced to seven years in prison for sharing anti-war content about the Russian army. The CCS holds the opinion that Bogmut has not committed any crime under either UN or Russian law and calls on the United Nations to take action for his release.
His Excellency Mr. Volker Türk
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 Rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva
Switzerland
Your Excellency,
The Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS) is an independent human rights organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars. For over 50 years, it has been protecting and advancing the rights and scientific freedom of colleagues worldwide.
We write to express our concern about the imprisonment of Dmitry Bogmut, an engineer at the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. He was arrested in April 2024, kept in a federal penitentiary, and recently sentenced to seven years in a general regime colony on charges of “spreading fake news” about the Russian army. Bogmut’s anti-war position and his sharing on social media of a Deutsche Welle video about the war in Ukraine were used as evidence against him.
It was reported that during the trial at the Gatchina City Court, Judge Ksenia Lebedeva made no attempt to maintain an unbiased atmosphere in the courtroom. It was packed with members of the “Union of Donbas Volunteers” in military camouflage who provoked verbal skirmishes with defenders of Bogmut and physically attacked one of his supporters outside the courtroom.
In the opinion of this Committee, Dmitry Bogmut has not committed any crime, neither by the standards of the United Nations, nor by the judicial standards of the Russian Federation.
We respectfully request that you utilize the authority vested in you by the United Nations to secure the release of Dmitry Bogmut from a Russian prison.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
CC:
Mr. Alexander Darchiev
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007