OBNINSK - MOSCOW, APRIL 4, 2001. DMITRY NEVEROVSKY DIED...

The Radical Party and the Antimilitarist Radical Association with a deep regret inform about the death of the member of the RP and the ARA Dmitry Neverovsky who tragically died at night, on April 4, in Obninsk (Kaluga region), in the fire in his own house. Dmitry Neverovsky was born on July 3, 1973 in the family of intellectuals and human rights activists. His mother Tatyana Kotlyar is at present the deputy of Obninsk city council, the chairman of Obninsk regional human rights group (ORHRG) and the member of the General Council of the ARA.

After finishing school, Dmitry began his studies in the Obninsk institute of atomic energetics. In the beginning of 1995, being the student, he stopped training in military faculty to protest against the Chechen war. Since 1996 he was an active member of the Radical Party and the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA). In 1997, having received the call-up papers, Dmitry declared that he conscientiously objected and began to assert his constitutional right to conscientious objection in courts. On October 27, 1999, after the beginning of the Second Chechen war, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Obninsk instituted against him criminal proceedings accusing him of "evading the military service". On November 25, the same year, the Obninsk city court presided by judge Yakov Makarovsky sentenced Neverovsky to two years of imprisonment, a maximum severe verdict provided by this article - obviously it was for edification of other conscientious objectors. D

imitry was detained in the hall of court and brought away to prison in handcuffs. On December 30, from the cell of the Kaluga investigatory isolation ward, Dmitry Neverovsky launched an open letter to his coevals - to Russian recruits: "do not participate in war crimes of the regime, conscientiously object!". On January 18, 2000 the prison administration placed him in the punishment cell under a far-fetched pretext. Dmitry declared dry hunger-strike and the administration gave up: from the punishment cell he was transferred back to the minimum security cell.

On January 20, the European Parliament stood up for Dmitry Neverovsky, calling in its resolution on the situation in Chechnya adopted on the initiative of radical deputies, to reconsider the "case of Neverovsky". On February 8, the Kaluga regional court relegated the case of Neverovsky to the Obninsk court for inquiry in a new composition of the court. Dmitry still was behind bars. According to the decision of the same Kaluga regional court, he was released from custody under recognizance not to leave, only on April 19, after 146 days which he spent in prison for his anti-war and antimilitarist convictions.

On July 26, 2000, the Obninsk city court reexamined the case of Neverovsky and sentenced Dmitry to one year of imprisonment and then released him from punishment by amnesty in connection with the anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Dmitry rejected the amnesty and continued his struggle - now at large - for his full acquittal for lack of corpus delicti, to defend other persecuted conscientious objectors, against the Chechen war and militarism. Due to his uncompromising stand in the affirmation of conscience and his courage, Dmitry Neverovsky rightfully became for hundreds of thousands of recruits, for millions Russian citizens a symbol of struggle against militarism, for the right to conscientious objection and affirmation of conscience. The Radical Party and the Antimilitarist Radical Association deeply grieve and present the most sincere condolences to the parents of Dima Neverovsky, to his relatives and friends. The funeral of Dmitry Neverovsky will be held on Friday, April 6, at 11:30 a.m., in Obninsk.