Politic?

Evaluating Refugee Status in Canada

"I think it would be reckless on the part of Canada to send these people back. As a democracy that has been taking in refugees, we have a policy of helping people. It would offend the conscience of Canadians. I find it hard to believe we have not been more helpful."
"In Russia, there is a relentless intimidation of any kind of opposition."
"In light of what has happened to journalists critical of the [Putin] regime or political opponents, there seem to be just too many coincidences [deaths, accidents, arrests] here. Especially given that there is a common thread leading to Ms. Musikhina and the information that she had, information which the Kremlin could and highly likely would view as highly damaging."
"What we have seen in Russia is a continuing shrinking of the zone of democracy. The government has less and less tolerance of any kind of dissent."
"It is always possible that there is an accident. When there is a common thread, where there are people who showed opposition, then there are too many accidents."
Aurel Braun, expert, International and Russian affairs, University of Toronto

"I've met with them [Russian scientist Elena Musikhuna and her husband Mikhail Musikhin] several times. When you read her affidavit, you realize she must be one of the bravest people in Siberia. Her life would be in extreme danger."
"I think the government of Canada is becoming a little less naive about what Russia is capable of doing."
Former Member of Parliament David Kilgour

"I suggested that it was very dangerous to have all those factories in one region [close to Lake Baikal]; any significant incident in one factory can cause others to be destroyed or contaminated."
"Also, many of them are located in seismic zones and can cause environmental disasters. Very influential people who had financial gain in the weapons industry offered me money to shut up, but I refused. Some of the companies should be shut down, according to my recommendation."
"Evgeni Hamaganov, with whom we protested together to protect Lake Baikal. We protested between 2014 and 2015; he was beaten to death."
"The government knows very well that I am at large and that I had access to that information and that it can be used against Russia, since I was myself against the regime, though they can't know for sure if it [the evidence] is in my hand."
Russian scientist Elena Musikhina, seeking refugee status in Canada

Elena Musikhina, fourth from left, at the Irkutsk State Technical University with students. OTTwp

Elena Musikhina and her husband live in Gatineau, Quebec, where they have domiciled since December 2015, awaiting permission to become permanent residents of Canada. In making an application for refugee status their affidavit in support of their claim for that status speaks to the grave danger they would face if forced to return to Russia. Unfortunately the tribunal hearing the case chose to turn down their refugee protection application on the grounds that they failed to qualify as refugees. A succeeding appeal failed as well. They have turned in desperation to the Federal Court for a hearing.

As a professor and researcher at the Irkutsk State Technical University in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, with its 600,000 population located close to Lake Baikal, she undertook work as an independent expert and volunteer, to predict potential flood areas, mud flows and deforestation effects alongside industrial production, and ended up mapping out high-risk zones. She had access to sensitive information held by the university.

By Dr. Musikhina's account she and a group of students searched for backup water supplies while assessing the risk of environmental pollution, predicting accidents and fires caused by industrial infrastructure, and assessing risk "in case of war". Her concern was alterations to the ecosystem of Lake Baikal, the deepest by volume in the world, with a greater store of fresh water than the Great Lakes all together. Baikal seals, the only species of seal to live exclusively in fresh water were washing up dead on the lake's shore.

She decided to share the result of some of her investigation with the governor of Irkutsk, Igor Esipovski, in April of 2009. The governor shared her concerns. He was also known to be in opposition of deforestation of a national park; issues that no doubt placed him on a list of nuisance-makers in the Kremlin. He died in a helicopter crash which officials explained was a mishap caused by a bear dragged within a net attached to the helicopter. When the bear awoke, it grasped at a tree leading the helicopter to crash.

"This story is self-evidently ridiculous", she scoffs. "However, no one was allowed to go to the crash site for a few days. There were no survivors. I believe that his helicopter death was not an accident and was related to his environment protection activity in which I was also involved." One of quite a few accidents, evidently, including several which almost caused her to lose her life such as when shots were fired over her head, out walking near the family home in Irkutsk.

She continued, nonetheless, airing her opinion about controversial moves made by the Kremlin; her criticism of the annexations of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, placed her out of step with most Russians and did little to endear her to the authorities. The vice-rector of her university threatened to bring criminal charges against her for extremism, forcing her to resign her position with the university. Husband and wife moved to St.Petersburg, but found no appropriate work there, went on to Poland and eventually arrived in Canada on travel visas to visit their daughter, resident since 2012.

And where they made application for refugee status in Canada. The tribunal hearing their application refused to accept the explanation that Russian authorities would accuse them under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of some crimes against the state. The fact that they were able to leave Russia with no opposition "diminishes their credibility as regards to whether the authorities were seeking them", the tribunal concluded. Which a March 12 appeal decision upheld.

One dissident's fate opposed to the presence of a nuclear waste factory, weapons manufacturers, an institution researching and manufacturing biological weapons in a fragile environment is a no-contest in Russia, unconcerned with the environmental degradation that results from effluent and testing. But this woman remains confident that in the end reason and justice will prevail, and a Federal Court decision will tip the final decision in their favour.