Source: HRO.org (info), 05/09/11

· Valentin Danilov · Prisoners · Political Prisoners · Krasnoyarsk Region

Even in prison, and although more slowly than on the outside, time still goes by. This October two-thirds of the 13 year sentence (served in a strict regime penal colony) handed down to the prominent physicist Valentin Danilov will have passed. From this moment he can petition a court to be released on parole.

Turning for a moment from the realities with which we are familiar and refraining from assessing the chances for a parole appeal by Danilov, the Public Committee for the Defence of Scientists and the editorial board of Novaya gazeta believe it is vital to make use of even the smallest chance for the release of Valentin Danilov.

Time and money will be needed to prepare for the court hearing, to take part in it, and to run a campaign to engage public support. The Public Committee for the Defence of Scientists is staffed by volunteers and has no financial resources of its own. Nor does it have its own bank account.

The Public Committee for the Defence of Scientists together with the editorial board of Novaya gazeta appeal to all those who wish to support a legal campaign for parole for Valentin Danilov and are able to make a donation for this purpose.

We propose to use donations received to pay the costs of two lawyers, of a number of trips to Krasnoyarsk, to support Danilov’s family, and to pay the medical costs of Danilov himself, who, no longer young and after eight years in prison, is not in the best of health.

We appeal to individuals and organizations who know of the fate of Valentin Danilov and are able to make a donation to support the coming legal campaign to secure his release on parole.

An organization that shares our concerns and our goals – the Glasnost Defence Foundation led by Aleksei Simonov – has opened a special bank account into which money can be paid.

The Public Committee for the Defence of Scientists, the Glasnost Defence Foundation and the editorial board of Novaya gazeta guarantee that all donations will exclusively be used for the stated purposes.

Donations can be paid into the following Sberbank account (details below in Russian).

Yury Ryzhov, Dmitry Muratov, Novaya gazeta 

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