In regions and cities across Russia, state officials are taking extraordinary measures to limit people’s movements and curb the spread of coronavirus. On March 18, Russia’s Supreme Court even imposed a moratorium on all hearings across the nation’s judicial system except for particularly “urgent cases,” though judges have enormous leeway here to decide what meets this threshold. Meanwhile, Russia’s prison system has effectively locked down, and observers warn that we now even less know about what happens at these facilities than we did before.

To get a better grasp of the coronavirus containment measures’ effects on Russia’s justice system, “The Naked Pravda” turned to two pairs of human rights activists and scholars, as well as the author of a Meduza investigative report about how the coronavirus quarantine is making it even harder in Russia to find justice in the courts.

In this episode:

(3:25) Liliya Yapparova, Meduza investigative journalist
(6:01) Kirill Koroteev, head of international practice at the “Agora” international human rights group
(11:45) Valentina Dekhtyarenko, project manager at the “Open Russia” human rights group
(14:13) Dr. Olga Zeveleva, postdoctoral researcher at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, contributing to the Gulag Echoes project
(21:50) Ksenia Runova, junior researcher at the Institute for the Rule of Law at the European University at St. Petersburg

“The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays. Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”

Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Pandemic Justice: How COVID-19 and coronavirus containment measures have exacerbated problems in Russia’s courts and prisons

The Naked Pravda