AMSTERDAM - A Russian opposition activist who hanged himself in the Netherlands last week may have been driven to suicide by threats rather than a refusal to grant him asylum, his lawyer said.
Alexander Dolmatov was under investigation for alleged involvement in violence at a protest against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his inauguration as president. He fled Russia in June after police raided his parents’ apartment last year.
He sought asylum in the Netherlands but his request was turned down and he was found dead in a cell in a Rotterdam deportation centre on Jan. 17.
His lawyer, who was preparing to appeal the asylum decision in November, said a marked change in his client’s behaviour at that time suggested that Dolmatov had been “pressured” before his death.
“He suddenly became rather paranoid about mentioning the existence of security services,” said Marq Wijngaarden. Previously Dolmatov had been prepared to discuss his experiences of the security services in great detail.
“He told me it was a grave crime to discuss such things in Russia.”
Wijngaarden said Dolmatov was under no immediate threat of being deported since his appeal was still under way and he doubted the refusal of asylum was the sole motivation for his suicide.
Yevgeny Arkhipov, a prominent Russian human rights lawyer and friend of Dolmatov’s, said Dolmatov had received threatening telephones calls that stopped suddenly when he was refused asylum.
“The person was just broken and terrified, he did not want to come back,” Arkhipov told Reuters.
In a suicide note to his mother, Dolmatov sounded an oddly patriotic note despite having fled under pressure from Russian investigators.
“I am leaving so as not to return as a traitor and a disgrace to everyone, our whole family. Such things happen, please be strong,” he scribbled on several small sheets of notepaper, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
“I betrayed my homeland’s security. If it is possible, transfer my body to Russia. Russia is stronger than any other country, and it will only be stronger. Living in Russia is better than anywhere else.”
Wijngaarden said Dolmatov had always denied being put under pressure, but said his decision to stop talking about the security services suggested otherwise.
“It made me believe that somebody had told him, ‘Ok, up until now we can forgive you, but one more word and you’re in trouble.'”
