The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights first announced Arkhipov’s hospitalization on February 15. Although the lawyer fell ill on February 9, he initially expected the problems to pass. He was taken to the hospital, however, after his condition severely deteriorated on the night of February 14.

Doctors concluded on February 17 that Arkhipov’s symptoms “indirectly” confirmed the presence of a toxin such as thallium, which is notorious for its use for murder.

Despite his diagnosis and despite his complaints of continuing pain, the on-duty doctor told Arkhipov at 10:30 pm that same night that he must leave the hospital, without any explanation as to why.

One of the medical personnel at the hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Association of Russian Lawyers that someone from the hospital’s management had called earlier in the day and ordered Arkhipov to be discharged within 24 hours, regardless of the condition of his health.

Specialists from the association believe that Arkhipov was intentionally poisoned as a result of his direct participation in preparing an anti-corruption report that was published on February 9. The report included information about controversial toll roads that, it claims, bring in more money annually than Russia’s income from oil sales.

The association has issued an open call for any possible assistance that could help Arkhipov regain entry into a hospital or somehow otherwise receive proper medical care. Robert Amsterdam’s website reported on Wednesday that the lawyer is also attempting to go abroad for treatment.

If Arkhipov has in fact been poisoned, it would not be the first attempt on his life. Unknown assailants attacked the lawyer in the Moscow metro on January 25, and an assassination attempt in June 2009 forced him to temporarily flee the country.

Additionally, the Moscow City Bar attempted to revoke Arkhipov’s status as a lawyer last October, claiming that his role in civic activism was mutually exclusive with his duties as a lawyer. Arkhipov asserted that the attack was connected with his participation in a rally opposing toll roads and his membership in the Solidarity opposition movement. The bar later dropped the case.

The February 17 press release from the Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights, which includes a hotline for support for Arkhipov, can be seen in Russian by clicking here.

In a press release on Monday, Arkhipov stated that the news of a Russian telecommunications firm banning access to opposition websites was evidence of a growing trend in the country to persecute dissident activism as extremism.

“In this case, the actions of the authorities have once again confirmed that the country and political system are striving towards totalitarianism,” the lawyer asserted. “This tendency will continue down the road, with tougher methods in the battle against dissent and civil opposition movement and with the suppression of the basic rights and freedoms of citizens.”

The statement comes after Friday’s announcement by Corbina, one of Russia’s largest telecommunications providers and more commonly known under the brand name Beeline, that it was blocking access to the opposition websites Nazbol.ru and Limonov2012.ru due to “orders from above.”

The two websites are run by the banned National Bolshevik Party, whose leader, Eduard Limonov, has been integral in organizing the Strategy 31 series of protests in defense of the constitutional right to freedom of assembly.

Editors of the websites believe that Corbina’s ban speaks directly to the success of the rallies, which have recently gained a significant increase in both participation and international attention due to the brutality with which they have been suppressed by police.

Arkhipov was dismal in his prediction of the consequences of such persecution. “[Russians] are going to become witnesses to political persecution, through persecution against opposition leaders and civic activists, and through groundless detentions and political murders.”

Russian human rights advocates and opposition activists have long maintained that legislation from 2002 defining extremism is uselessly vague, and has given the authorities free reign to arrest anyone who they deem to be undesirable to the state. The notorious Center for Extremism Prevention of the Russian Interior Ministry, known as Center “E,” has been a source of particular concern, accused by Amnesty International of torturing criminal suspects to extract confessions. Additionally, Russia came under criticism last month in a United Nations report for its continued use of secret prisons to illegally detain political oppositionists and people blamed for “extremist” activity.

Judges in Russia are requesting the right to initiate criminal proceedings against those attempting to pressure them and impede the due process of law, RIA Novosti reports.

Supreme Court of Arbitration representative Anton Ivanov said that the law would require investigative agencies to respond to accusations of pressure on judges, an urgent problem faced by the Russian judicial system.

Ivanov noted that regardless of judges’ appeals to law enforcement agencies with complaints of outside pressure, nothing has been made clear about criminal proceedings should have been be initiated in result.

As a countermeasure against such interference, Ivanov proposed that judges keep a log of all non-procedural appeals to them in regard to pending court cases.

Evgeny Arkhipov of the Russian lawyers association For Human Rights told Kasparov.ru that, in his opinion, “this initiative comes not from the Supreme Court of Arbitration, but from structures within the Kremlin.”

“It is an attempt,” he said, “to pressure social organizations and independent media, which will be blamed for pressure” on the judges.

If the proposal is made in to law, Arkhipov said, it would allow judges to conduct high-profile proceedings without the participation of the public or media, bringing about massive judicial violations.

Arkhipov, a member of the Solidarity opposition movement, was himself threatened with dismissal in November on the basis of his public activism. The charges were later dropped.

Ivanov’s announcement is reminiscent of the case of a Russian judge dismissed in 2004. Olga Kudeshkina was stripped of her status as a judge after accusing government officials of pressuring her, and for saying that the Moscow City Duma had devolved into a place for “the settling of political, commercial, and other scores.” After being fired, the former judge appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which ordered Russia to pay her 10,000 euro in moral damages.

According to the press release, the twelve-person commission believes that lawyers have no right to engage in social activism. On this basis, the commission held a session on October 28 to demand an initiation for disciplinary proceedings against Arkhipov.

Arkhipov says he had only been given a day’s notice about the session, despite being required to attend. He asserts that upon arrival, members of the commission “didn’t let me say a single word, blamed me for some absurd things, and screamed endlessly.” He also said that they failed to introduce themselves or name their posts.

The press release asserted that “Such prohibitions are established neither in the law ‘On advocacy’ nor in the ‘Code of Advocatory Ethics,’ which the commission referred to, nor in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.”

In a statement to Kasparov.ru, Moscow City Bar President Henri Reznik affirmed that lawyers have the right to participate in social activism.

In Arkhipov’s opinion, the attack is connected with his role as organizer for an October 10 rally opposing toll roads that the local population had voted down overwhelmingly. His membership in the opposition movement Solidarity also likely plays a role.

The next session of the qualifications commission will take place on November 11, where Arkhipov will be required to explain the basis of his social activism.

A combination of assassination attempts and increasing Kremlin control over the judicial system has created a hostile environment for Russian lawyers in recent years. In a high-profile case last January, Lawyer Stanislav Markelov was shot dead in broad daylight in Moscow along with Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova.

Human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov was scathing of his indictment of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s silence on Markelov’s killing. “The president always talks about superiority of the law. A lawyer was killed carrying out his duties and the president, a lawyer himself, could not even find one word to say.”