new lj-community for oleg mavromatti support
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mavromatti : Dear Friends,
This online community is created in support of Russian artist Oleg Mavromatti, who is being persecuted by Russian authorities for the crime he did not commit. Here shall be posted and discussed ideas and step by step instructions of how each of us can help the artist. Please join us with your thoughts and actions. Help Russia to promote the freedom of speech and democracy!!
Please see the details of Mavromatti's story below. Write your own letter of support or sign the one suggested above and mail it to:
State Agency For Refugees With The Council of Ministers
21-A Montevideo St
Sofia; Ovcha Kupel residential district
1618
Bulgaria
http://www.aref.government.bg/
UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency - Bulgaria
19 Ivan Denkoglu
Sofia, Bulgaria 1000
http://www.unhcr-budapest.org/bulgaria/
Make it personal or collective appeal.
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Letter of Support With Regard to Granting a Political Asylum or Refugee Status to Russian Artist and Filmmaker Oleg Mavromatti
Russian artist and filmmaker Oleg Mavromatti currently residing in Sofia (Bulgaria) was refused his passport renewal on the grounds of being charged with "inciting national and religious hatred" under the Section 282 (2) of The Criminal Code of The Russian Federation. If he is not granted political asylum and protected from the extradition, he will face up to five years in jail. We express our deepest concern with regard to the persecution of the Russian artist and ask for your support in consideration of his political asylum appeal.
On April 1, 2000 during the making of the movie “Oil on Canvas”, the movie director Oleg Mavromatti played the role of an artist who killed another artist out of acute jealousy, and wanted to redeem himself from this deed. With his crew and actors, Oleg Mavromatti was shooting the scene of redemption "Do Not Believe The Eyes”. The scene was turned into a performance, during which his hands were nailed to a wooden cross. To distance himself from the famous Gospel, Oleg Mavromatti inscribed on his back "I am Not the Son of God". The situation went out of control when in response to an unauthorized call from some unsuspecting actor, the Russian TV has arrived and made it the news.
Shortly, under the initiative of the pro-Fascist organization "The Union of Orthodox Gonfaloniers”, Oleg Mavromatti was charged with "inciting national and religious hatred". His Moscow apartment was searched, his personal archive, including all art works, films, computers and other electronic media were confiscated. Facing the jail term, Oleg Mavromatti was forced to leave the country.
For the past ten years Oleg Mavromatti lived and worked in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Troy (New York) with his wife, a Bulgarian citizen, artist Boryana Rossa Dragoeva, currently a post-graduate student at the Department of Electronic Arts, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York). While in Bulgaria, Oleg Mavromatti applied for political asylum under the support from the Helsinki Human Rights Group, but was refused. It was brought to his attention, that beginning 1992 Bulgaria does not grant Russian citizens political asylum status.
Similar case was initiated against Russian artist Avdei Ter-Oganian in 1999, who was granted political asylum in Czech Republic.
Recently, the Section 282 (2) was exercised against the Head of Contemporary Art Department at Russian State Tretyakov Gallery, Anderei Erofeev and Director of the Andrey Sakharov Museum and Public Centee, Yuri Samodurov. Both lost their jobs after the beginning of the trial. In July 2010 they were found guilty under the Section 282 (2). The trial was followed closely by Amnesty International, which unequivocally condemned the very possibility of the verdict and accused the Russian justice in violation of the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.
Oleg Mavromatti - an internationally acclaimed artist and filmmaker, founder of the Supernova Movie Union. His creative work is represented by such institutions as the Goethe Institute (Sofia, Bulgaria), the Museum of Cinematography (Moscow, Russia), Museum of Contemporary Art (Denver, USA), Cultural Centre of Stockholm (Sweden), American Cultural Center (Sofia, Bulgaria), the Central House of Artists (Moscow, Russia), Gallery EXITART (New York, USA). The art by Oleg Mavromatti is part of the collections of the Shtedelik Museum (Netherlands), Ludwig Museum (Germany), Denver Museum of Contemporary Art (Denver, USA), collection of Gerda Zerhuzen (Germany). His name is included in Russian Movie Encyclopedia (2001), as well as in award winning book “Russian Actionism "(2007) by A. Kovalev.
We hope you will consider Oleg Mavromatti case closely and extend a hand of assistance in granting him with political asylum.
Respectfully,
[Signatures]
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Write your own letter of support or sign the one suggested above and mail it to:
State Agency For Refugees With The Council of Ministers
21-A Montevideo St
Sofia; Ovcha Kupel residential district
1618
Bulgaria
http://www.aref.government.bg/
UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency - Bulgaria
19 Ivan Denkoglu
Sofia, Bulgaria 1000
http://www.unhcr-budapest.org/bulgaria/
Make it personal or collective appeal.
naked came, and now - he says - I am for their willfulness 
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