 Women of the Don was added to the Justice Ministry's list of foreign agents in 2014. Valentina Cherevatenko was informed that she was a suspect under Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code following a search law enforcement officers conducted of her offices on 24 June 2016. As Amnesty International has reported: "Article 330.1 makes 'systematic evasion of duties imposed by the law on non-profit organisations performing the
functions of a foreign agent' a crime which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.
Article 330.1 was added to the Russian Criminal Code as part of the so-called 'foreign agents law' which requires
all NGOs who receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined 'political activities' to register as 'organisations performing the functions of foreign agents,' brand all their public materials accordingly and comply
with a stringent reporting regime." The searches of the offices of Women of the Don were condemned by, among others, Mikhail Fedotov, chair of the Presidential Human Rights Council, and Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. As Rights in Russia has reported earlier, Valentina Cherevatenko believes that the prosecution may be related to the activities of her group in seeking to establish monitoring by civil society actors of the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Amnesty International provide the following background on Women of the Don: "Women of the Don Union has worked tirelessly for over 20 years on a range of issues, from human rights to humanitarian relief
and peacebuilding, in Rostov Oblast and the neighbouring regions, including in the North Caucasus. It is one of the most highly
regarded and authoritative NGOs in Russia.
Women of the Don Union, and its sister organization Women of the Don Foundation for Civil Society Development (where
Valentina Cherevatenko is a member of the board), were declared “foreign agents” by the Ministry of Justice on 5 June 2014
and 27 October 2015 respectively.
Both Women of the Don Union and Women of the Don Foundation for Civil Society Development have challenged their
inclusion in the “foreign agents” register by the Ministry of Justice. On 29 February 2016 the Ministry of Justice officially
removed one of them, Women of the Don Union, from the register stating that the organisation "had stopped performing the
functions of a foreign agent".
Under Russian law a person investigated for a crime has the status of suspect until an indictment is issued against them at
which stage they are formally accused.
The “foreign agents law” has had a chilling effect on many organisations and civil society activists in Russia. Its aggressive
implementation by the authorities has resulted in a number of prominent NGOs choosing to close down, several more facing
bankruptcy for refusing to brand themselves “foreign agents” and being issued with heavy fines, and has disrupted the normal
work on hundreds of NGOs across Russia." Sources: 'Rights Group of the Week: Women of the Don,' Rights in Russia, 4 July 2016'NGO Head First Russian Charged Under "Foreign Agent" Law,' RFE/RL, 2 June 2017 'RUSSIAN FEDERATION: FURTHER INFORMATION: PROMINENT DEFENDER DECLARED CRIMINAL SUSPECT: VALENTINA CHEREVATENKO,' Amnesty International, 1 July 2016 'Russia launches its first criminal case against a nonprofit for evading the "law on foreign agents",’ Meduza, 28 June 2016 'Заведено первое уголовное дело за неисполнение закона об иностранных агентах,' Vedomosti, 28 June 2016Grigory Tumanov, 'В офисе организации «Женщины Дона» начались обыски,' Kommersant, 24 June 2016 'Глава СПЧ считает обыск в союзе "Женщины Дона" необоснованным,' RIA Novosti, 24 June 2016 Nils Muižnieks, Facebook 'Statement: "Drop unfounded criminal charges against Russian human rights activist Valentina Cherevatenko",' Rights in Russia [via Public Verdict Foundation], 17 May 2016 'Russia: Rights Activist Interrogated - First Criminal Inquiry in a "Foreign Agents" case,' Human Rights Watch, 18 May 2016 |
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