When Maria Kartasheva appeared at her Canadian citizenship ceremony in June last year, she thought she would cut up her permanent resident card and take the oath. However, authorities blocked him from participating, arguing that criminal charges he faced in Russia, for criticizing the war in Ukraine, could make him ineligible for citizenship.
On Tuesday afternoon, he was finally sworn in in a virtual ceremony from his home in Ottawa and became a Canadian citizen. However, that moment came after what he described as an agonizing seven-month saga, including excessive efforts to gain public support for his case. If he is sent back to Russia, as Canada is considering, he could face up to eight years in prison.
“I placed all these hopes in Canada and I was betrayed,” said Ms. Kartacheva, 30. “And then who will care about me? I was so afraid that no one would want to support me.
MS. Kartacheva was arrested in absentia last spring and convicted in November by a Moscow judge for anti-war comments she posted on social media while living in Canada.
Permanent residents with criminal records in other countries may lose their immigration status in Canada if an equivalent crime is identified in Canadian law. But after examination, the authorities decided to grant him citizenship.
MS. Kartasheva started the petition last month and was surprised by the letters of support she received from Russian dissidents and human rights groups.
“I find it surprising that we have a bureaucracy that is so rigid, to say the least, or so incredibly stupid that it doesn't realize that someone in this situation needs protection rather than persecution in Canada “, declared Aurel Braun. , professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto and author of several books on Russian politics.
MS. Kartasheva and her husband, both tech workers, arrived in Ottawa in 2019 as permanent residents, reluctant to leave the country they loved. But, he says, the political climate in Russia makes even walking to work, under the watchful eye of heavily armed police, a daily concern. One of his first culture shocks in Canada was the absence of uniformed officers patrolling the streets of the capital.
As she adjusts to life in Canada, Ms. Kartasheva has freely expressed political views that she had largely suppressed at home, participating in anti-Putin protests outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa and sharing his opinions on social media. He also co-founded the Russian-Canadian Democratic Alliance, a pro-democracy organization.
His activism quickly attracted the attention of Russian authorities. They arrested Ms. Kartasheva in absentia in April 2023, arguing that she had spread “false information” about the Russian military in statements she made from Canada in social media posts about the massacre from Bucha, Ukraine. The charges were brought under a series of censorship laws introduced as part of Russia's crackdown on opposition to the war.
[Read: Bagaimana Pemerintah Rusia Membungkam Perbedaan Pendapat Waktu Perang]Ms. Kartasheva's arrest was ordered by Elena Lenskaya, a judge at the Basmanny district court in central Moscow known for hearing cases of high-profile opponents of President Vladimir Putin, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and Aleksei Navalny .
Judge Lensskaya and the Basmanny District Court have been sanctioned by Canada over the past 14 months for human rights violations.
“Some regimes do not hesitate to attack former citizens, even if they have left the country, because these regimes will do anything to stay in power,” Professor Braun said. “They are really cruel.”
MS. Kartasheva believes the Russian embassy reported her to Russian authorities. The embassy did not respond to questions regarding the allegations.
“As far as we are aware, crimes of this nature are being investigated in other national jurisdictions, including Canada,” the emailed statement said.
Canada's law against the spread of fake news was declared unconstitutional in 1992, and the Supreme Court noted that other democracies did not have such provisions, said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, executive director and legal counsel of the Canadian Association civil liberties. Even before its repeal, a federal legal commission recommended its repeal.
“They say it’s outdated because it was intended to protect the rulers of the kingdom,” he said. “And in a democracy, in a free and democratic society, public figures must especially be able to resist criticism and scrutiny. »
In a letter from her immigration officer, Ms. Kartasheva was informed that officials had identified a Canadian law that they believed to be equivalent to Russian law, namely a law that prohibits Canadians from transmitting “information that they know to be false” and “with the intention of harming or threatening someone”.
The Canadian provision falls under the property rights section of the criminal code, Mendelsohn Aviv notes, and has been used to prosecute people for making fake emergency calls and for harassing or threatening others. The officer approved Ms. Kartasheva after considering arguments from her immigration lawyer, Mikhail Golichenko, that Russian law had no equivalent in Canada.
MS. Kartasheva, relieved to become a Canadian citizen, intended to resume her activism after this struggle.
“I still believe that Canada could have prevented this,” he said, adding: “At the same time, I am very grateful. »
Vjosa Isai is a journalist and researcher for the New York Times in Toronto.
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