Lawyer Who Freed Four Women Accused of Treason to Russia

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian lawyer who facilitated the release of four women accused of treason last year, claims that former U.S. President Barack Obama lent him a helping hand in this matter. Tom Balmforth from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that Pavlov has been a defense attorney for over two decades and has taken on several treason cases, a subject that has also put pressure on him from the Russian security service (FSB). The cases he defends are not simple matters. His organization was shut down in 2014 under the label of 'foreign agent,' and his American wife was expelled from Russia. Pavlov states that both instances were tools to exert pressure on him. However, on January 30, this Tuesday, Human Rights Watch awarded him for his 'courage and tireless work.' Pavlov has witnessed several treason cases within Russia, especially after tensions with the West escalated around the Ukraine crisis in 2014. He says, 'When there is enmity outside, there must be enmity inside as well.' The pressures on Pavlov had begun even before this when he met with several civil society leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which includes twenty industrialized nations, and met with Barack Obama. This meeting still resonates with Pavlov. Last December, he hosted a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter in his office in St. Petersburg and had a photo of his meeting with Obama hanging on the wall. During the 2013 meeting with Obama in St. Petersburg, Pavlov discussed his legal activities with the U.S. President and asked him what help he could provide, mentioning the 35-year sentence of Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. soldier convicted of espionage and leaking classified information, and requested her pardon. Pavlov says, 'I told Obama that it would be good for him to take a positive step to show goodwill towards Russia. I said to pardon Ms. Manning so that this action could serve as an example for leaders of other countries.' In one of the last actions of the Obama administration, Manning's prison sentence was reduced to seven years in January 2017, and having served that time, she was able to be released. Pavlov states that Obama's action vividly illustrates America's role on the global stage and its impact on Russia, even when bilateral relations are severely strained. He adds, 'Of course, I am not saying that Obama freed Ms. Manning because of me, but then something happened in Russia that is not unrelated to Manning's release, as Putin pardoned three of my clients who were imprisoned on treason charges.' In late 2016, human rights activists, including Pavlov, learned that a group of women, including a shopkeeper, a housewife, and a florist, were arrested and imprisoned on serious treason charges in Sochi. The arrests occurred in 2014 and 2015, and their charges dated back to 2008 and 2009 when Russia went to war against Georgia, and these women had messaged acquaintances in the neighboring country about the movements of Russian tanks and military ships in the Black Sea coastal area and the Georgian border. However, although their messages were sent to friends during a sensitive period, human rights activists began efforts to exonerate them, arguing that their text messages were not intended to disclose information to the public and did not convey any details of classified information. After their arrest, these cases received no media coverage in the country, and the women accused their lawyers of negligence and providing incorrect advice, ultimately being sentenced to long prison terms for treason. Pavlov took on the defense of all three women. He says that his first task was to demonstrate the absurdity of these charges to the court and the Russian people and launched a wide media campaign in this regard. He adds, 'The absurdity of these charges was not only heard from ordinary people but even reflected in state media.' Pavlov says that just two months after Manning's pardon by Obama and the highlighting of the issue of the Russian women's arrests by a RT television reporter at Putin's press conference, he signed the order for the release of one of the Sochi women in March 2017. In June of that year, two other women were also pardoned under the title of 'humanitarian pardon,' and finally, in November of that year, the 47-year-old florist, Inga Tutisani, managed to get her prison sentence reduced by the Supreme Court and ultimately gained her freedom. The florist, Tutisani, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that she did not expect to be released before her sentence was up, even though she had not requested a pardon, as she did not consider herself guilty. She adds, 'I had only written two words in response to my cousin's school friends who had asked me if warships had anchored in Sochi.' She says that she confessed under pressure and threats, especially being told that her prison term could increase to 13 years, and her lawyer convinced her to take the blame for this crime. What could I do? However, Pavlov criticized Putin's tone and the reference to 'humanitarian pardon' in the order pardoning these three women, stating, 'There was no need for a humanitarian pardon. This pardon order was merely correcting a ridiculous and foolish mistake.'