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Human rights activist forced to flee Russia following TV 'witch-hunt'
Source: The Moscow Times via The Guardian
Human rights activist forced to flee Russia following TV 'witch-hunt'
Daria Litvinova for The Moscow Times, part of the New East network
Tuesday 20 October 2015 08.58 BST
A human rights activist from a small town in the Urals has fled to Paris seeking asylum after a documentary on state TV channel Rossia 1 accused her of “industrial espionage”.
Nadezhda Kutepova had fought for the rights of the residents of a town in the Chelyabinsk region, where a nuclear accident occurred decades ago. She fled in secrecy, fearing that the TV report accusing her was just a step away from formal prosecution.
Kutepova founded an NGO in the late 90s called Planeta Nadezhd (Planet of Hopes) in the town of Ozyorsk. The town, built around the Mayak nuclear plant, is classified as a “strategic site” and is closed to visitors.
Mayak makes components for nuclear weapons as well as storing and converting spent nuclear fuel. In 1957, one of the storage facilities exploded and radioactive materials poisoned the area around it, including the River Techa.
Kutepova has been fighting for people in the local area to get the medical treatment and benefits they are entitled to for conditions connected to the accident.
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Daria Litvinova for The Moscow Times, part of the New East network
Tuesday 20 October 2015 08.58 BST
A human rights activist from a small town in the Urals has fled to Paris seeking asylum after a documentary on state TV channel Rossia 1 accused her of “industrial espionage”.
Nadezhda Kutepova had fought for the rights of the residents of a town in the Chelyabinsk region, where a nuclear accident occurred decades ago. She fled in secrecy, fearing that the TV report accusing her was just a step away from formal prosecution.
Kutepova founded an NGO in the late 90s called Planeta Nadezhd (Planet of Hopes) in the town of Ozyorsk. The town, built around the Mayak nuclear plant, is classified as a “strategic site” and is closed to visitors.
Mayak makes components for nuclear weapons as well as storing and converting spent nuclear fuel. In 1957, one of the storage facilities exploded and radioactive materials poisoned the area around it, including the River Techa.
Kutepova has been fighting for people in the local area to get the medical treatment and benefits they are entitled to for conditions connected to the accident.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/20/russia-activist-flee-nuclear-tv-witch-hunt