H.E. Konstantin Chuychenko
Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation
Brussels, 9 December 2024
Subject: Sentencing of lawyer Dmitry Talantov
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), which represents the bars and law societies of 46 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE places great emphasis on respect for human rights and the rule of law, and is particularly concerned with the situation of human rights defenders around the world.
The CCBE would like to express its serious concern over the sentencing of lawyer Dmitry Talantov.
According to information that we have received, lawyer Dmitry Talantov was sentenced to seven years in prison on 28 November 2024. He has been convicted on the grounds of spreading false information about the Russian army and of “inciting hatred” on several Facebook posts.
It is reported that prior to his arrest in June 2022, lawyer Dmitry Talantov was the president of the Bar Association of the Udmurt Republic. He was the legal counsel for Ivan Safronov, a former military affairs correspondent for Russian newspapers who was jailed for 22 years on treason charges in September 2022 after being convicted of transferring confidential information to Western intelligence agencies. We understand that the two previous lawyers for Ivan Safronov have fled Russia over criminal inquiries related to their defence of the reporter.
In this context, the CCBE wishes to draw your attention to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (attached), in particular Principles 16, 17 and 18 on Guarantees for the functioning of lawyers and Principle 23 Freedom of expression and association.
In view of the above, the CCBE respectfully urges Your Excellency to do everything in your power to ensure that the charges against lawyer Dmitry Talantov are dropped and to restore his freedom since it is believed that his sentencing is based on his activities as a lawyer. In addition, the CCBE wishes to recall that all lawyers should be able to carry out their professional duties without fear of reprisal, hindrance, intimidation or harassment in order to preserve the independence and integrity of the administration of justice and the rule of law.
Yours sincerely,
Pierre-Dominique Schupp
President
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