Версия на русском языке
To Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),

We, the Russian Canadian Democratic Alliance (RCDA), along with other activists, politicians, journalists, and other honourable people of Russia and Canada, write this letter to bring attention to the citizenship case of Maria Kartasheva, an individual committed to democratic values and human rights. We seek your understanding and consideration of the political persecution Ms. Kartasheva has been subjected to by the Russian Federation. She was convicted under the Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. In this letter, we provide you with more context, and we urge you to view this not as an isolated case pertaining to Ms. Kartasheva, but with consideration of other Russian citizens in Canada who could potentially face prosecution under the same Article in Russia. We urge the IRCC to take this into account when making decisions regarding Ms. Kartasheva's citizenship application.

It is crucial to provide more information regarding the relevant Article. On March 4, 2022  — merely eight days after the commencement of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine — the Russian Parliament amended the Criminal Code by introducing Article 207.3: “Spreading false news about the use of the Russian military and the activities of Russian state institutions abroad”. This move by the Russian Government aimed to stifle the dissemination of accurate information regarding the conflict in Ukraine, creating a situation where state-sponsored propaganda became the sole narrative of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This Article is only a part of the huge crackdown on the freedom of speech in Russia that followed shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in 2022, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada reported that the purpose of most cases under Article 207.3 is to “prosecute anti-war posts and comments on social media (1)” an authoritarian measure which we believe has no equivalent under Canadian law. The Human Rights Commission of the US Congress has similarly established that “Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code effectively criminalizes the act of criticizing or sharing information about the Russian armed forces and their violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The article's intentionally broad and vague definitions allow arbitrary application and serve to silence public debate around the war in Ukraine.(2)” 

Many independent media were forced to cease their operations in Russia and move elsewhere as a result of this new law. The list included such independent media as the oldest independent radio station in Russia Echo of Moscow, the biggest independent TV channel “Dozhd”, international media Reuters, Bloomberg, and The New York Times, as well as many other media. Those that still publish truthful information for the Russian audience are blocked by Roskomnadzor (The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to the independent media Proekt, from the beginning of the war until the end of July 2022, Roskomnadzor blocked at least 95 information resources operating in Russia (3). 

Another way of pressuring different anti-war and pro-human rights organizations and individuals is by giving them various statuses that put them in danger of prosecution. Those include the status of a foreign agent, the status of an extremist organization, and the status of an undesirable organization - all of those are given to various organizations and even groups of people that the Russian government deems dangerous for the regime. The most striking example is the fact the “LGBT” community was given the status of an extremist organization, which effectively puts all the members of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia in danger of prosecution for just being who they are. All these examples of crackdowns on freedom of speech is the context in which Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code is being applied.

As part of the global Russian opposition movement advocating for democratic values and peace, we, the RCDA, wish to draw attention to the pervasive pattern of political repression in Russia, evident in the persecution of individuals like honorary Canadian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza. A prominent Russian opposition figure, Kara-Murza currently serves a 25-year prison sentence for opposing the Ukraine invasion under the same Article 207.3. This is the same Article that led to Ms. Kartasheva's conviction. With a longstanding association with Canada, Kara-Murza has championed the Magnitsky Act, known as the "Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act" in Canada. His unjust sentencing prompted Canada to grant him honorary citizenship, underscoring the acknowledgment of the political nature of such charges and the commitment to support those courageously opposing oppressive regimes.

According to the Russian human rights organization OVD-Info, 242 people are currently being prosecuted and/or imprisoned for breaking Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (4). Among individuals who were sentenced under this article:

• Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin received an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a video on his YouTube channel exposing war crimes committed by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
• Municipal councilor Aleksei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison for opposing a proposal to hold a children's dance and drawing competition amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Artist, musician, and anti-war activist Sasha Skochilenko received a seven-year sentence in a penal colony for replacing six supermarket pricing labels with anti-war messages.
• Journalist Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in a penal colony for posting on social media about an attack by Russian forces on a theatre in Mariupol in which civilians were killed.

Additionally, we wish to draw attention to the fact that the Judge Elena Lenskaya, who approved Ms. Kartasheva's arrest, and the Basmanny District Court of Moscow handling her case are both under Canadian sanctions for blatant human rights violations (5). The Canadian government has acknowledged the Russian government's use of legislation to stifle criticism of its war against Ukraine, and these sanctions reflect the need to address gross and systematic human rights abuses.

We believe that Ms. Kartasheva is one of the people who were unjustly persecuted by the Russian Government for her activism. As a resident of Ottawa since February 26, 2019, she has actively contributed to Canadian society. In collaboration with fellow anti-war Russians, she co-founded the Russian Canadian Democratic Alliance (RCDA) in 2022. 

Throughout the year, the RCDA, like many similar organizations for democratic Russian citizens outside of Russia, has been working hard to uphold democratic values among the Russian Canadian community. We organized demonstrations across various Canadian cities condemning war crimes and human rights violations committed by the Russian government. We held letter-writing events in different Canadian cities supporting political prisoners in Russia. The organization also conducted a successful fundraiser, collecting a total of 5000 CAD, to provide urgent medical care to women and girls who survived sexual assault, rape, and torture by the Russian army in Ukraine. In collaboration with Russian artist Victor Melamed, the RCDA organized an exhibition featuring portraits of civilian victims of the war. Alongside the exposition, a total of $1556.15 was successfully raised in a fundraiser supporting children who lost their parents to the war.

The RCDA, together with other individuals and organizations, urges the IRCC to consider the political nature of Ms. Kartasheva's case in Russia. Her activism aligns with Canadian values of human rights and democracy. The charges against her are politically motivated, reflecting the Russian government's desire to suppress dissent.

We request the IRCC to take this into account when making decisions regarding Ms. Kartasheva's citizenship application. We also seek your support in acknowledging the broader context of political repression in Russia under Article 207.3, as evidenced by the cases of individuals like Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Furthermore, please consider the potential impact of denying Canadian citizenship based on prosecution in Russia under Article 207.3. This decision could establish a pattern that might influence other Russian citizens in Canada who have encountered comparable political pressure from the Russian regime, creating a dangerous precedent of affirming the legitimacy of this law.

We gathered signatures from individuals and organizations who support this plea for justice and fairness in the case of Maria Kartasheva. Granting her Canadian citizenship is a reaffirmation of Canada's commitment to democratic values and human rights.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Signers: 

1. Anton Mosunov, Director of RCDA
2. Olga Babina, Director of RCDA
3. Yuriy Novodvorskiy, Director of RCDA
4. Aleksandr Polev, political activist, RCDA volunteer
5. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize.
6. Maxim Katz, politician and Youtuber
7. Anastasiia Briukhanova, politician and Youtuber
8. Svetlana (Lana) Koshkareva, member of “Anti-war committee of Russia”, coordinator of Database “Nuremberg Trials 2.0” Canadian Citizen
9. Ivan Zhilin, editor of the Novaya Gazeta reporting group, chief editor of the independent environmental media Kedr.media
10. Anastasia Burakova, founder of The Ark (Kovcheg) project
11. Julia Taran, Vice-president of Spanish Association of Free Russians
12. Natalia Ivanova, Demokrati-JA, Berlin
13. Ksenia Golovina, Spanish Association of Free Russians, Madrid
14. Polina Pechenkina, RCDA volunteer
15. Tatiana Lebedeva, RCDA volunteer, Canadian citizen
16. Kira Popova, RCDA volunteer, Canadian citizen
17. Mariia Solenova, Action4life, Lithuania
18. Yulia Kuleshova, project “Red roof”, Kyrgyzstan
19. Timofey Bugaevsky, Associação de russos livres
20. Alina Mazurkova, co-founder, Samantha Smith’s Group
21. Tatiana Shaderova, Russi contro la guerra, Italy.
22. Vladimir Pimonov, physicist.
23. Vassili Kolomatski, 'KOBZA', Chief editor, Commission of Human Rights (a part of Ukrainian World Coordination Council), Chairman, Ottawa
24. Ekaterina Shulman, politologist
25. Dmitriy Gudkov, politician,  Russian anti-war committee
26. Marat Gelman, collector, gallerist, Russian anti-war committee
27. Yulia Latynina, journalist, Russian anti-war committee
28. Evgeniy Kiselev, journalist, Russian anti-war committee
29. Anastasia Shevchenko, activist, Russian anti-war committee
30. Boris Zimin, businessman, philanthropist, Russian anti-war committee
31. Sergey Guriev, economist, Sciences Po Provost, Russian anti-war committee
32. Sergey Aleksashenko, economist, Russian anti-war committee
33. Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, businessman, opposition activist, Russian anti-war committee
34. Leonid Gozman, politician, Russian anti-war committee
35. Mikhail Kokorich, physicist and entrepreneur, Russian anti-war committee
36. Igor Sizov, actor, democrat
37. Maxim Kurnikov, journalist, Echo (ex. Echo of Moscow)
38. Avtozak LIVE
39. Rev. Karen Niven-Wigston
40. Dr. Kerry McElroy, North American correspondent for the Kyiv Post and PhD alumni Concordia
41. Mitchell Liao, protester at the Russian Embassy, Ottawa
42. Trevor Connolly, anti-war activist, Canadian citizen
43. Iryna Bogdan, Canadian Citizen
44. Nataliya Senyuk, Director of Ottawa supports Ukraine - Democracy
45. Youth Democratic Movement Vesna
46. Elena Kostyuchenko, journalist
47. Flora Benoit, Canadian citizen, activist and Russian Embassy Protester, Ottawa
48. Roman Lifanov, political activist, journalist, artist
49. Maria Shlyakhtova (Koneva), Canadian Citizen
50. Sergei Kotlyachkov, Canadian citizen, volunteer at wrgrassrootsresponse.ca

To sign publicly email contactus@rcda.ca