Quote for the Day


Marie Struthers [Amnesty International]: "The protection of Irina Biryukova and Yevgeny Makarov must be a priority for the Russian authorities"

posted 30 Jul 2018, 05:40 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 30 Jul 2018, 08:23 ]




“Irina Biryukova’s brave decision to expose the appalling abuse within IK-1 penal colony is the latest example of her dedication to protecting others from torture and other ill-treatment. It is alarming that her act of courage has forced her to flee the country in fear. The protection of Irina Biryukova and Yevgeny Makarov must be a priority for the Russian authorities. We are calling on them to promptly investigate in an independent and impartial manner the threats against Irina and the allegations of torture against Yevgeny, and commit to ending the culture of fear and impunity in the Russian penal system. The launch of the investigation into the allegations of torture is a welcome first step towards justice. However, in the absence of a national mechanism which systematically works to prevent torture, the criminal case against Makarov’s torturers will be an exception to the rule. We remain extremely concerned for the safety of Yevgeny Makarov and the thousands of others detained in Russian pre-trial detention centres, penal colonies and police stations where allegations of torture and other ill-treatment are rife and investigations are rare.”

                                             Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

On 23 July 2018 Amnesty International issued a statement in response to the decision by Irina Biryukova, a lawyer, to flee the country after releasing a video on 20 July showing her client Yevgeny Makarov being brutally beaten in a prison colony in Yaroslavl prison (IK-1) by 18 prison officers in June 2017. Amnesty urged the Russian authorities to act immediately to protect Biryukova and noted that, "According to Biryukova, her source inside the prison informed her that wardens were now plotting revenge against her, threatening her with physical harm." On23 July the Investigative Committee announced that six officers at the prison colony had been detained following the launch of a criminal investigation into the video.

Source: 'Russia: Lawyer covering torture case flees country after threats,' Amnesty International, 23 July 2018

Tanya Lokshina: "The Kremlin’s rights crackdown and isolationist policies are both baseless and ultimately harmful to the country’s future"

posted 19 Jul 2018, 10:23 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 19 Jul 2018, 10:24 ]




"Just before Russia’s 2014 Sochi Olympics, the country released several high-profile political prisoners. Russian activists and their supporters globally hoped for something similar with the World Cup. Those hopes have been dashed. Oleg Sentsov, a Crimean filmmaker serving a 20-year sentence on bogus terrorism charges, is now on day 64 of his hunger strike. Oyub Titiev, the Grozny director of Russia’s leading rights group, Memorial, is on trial in Chechnya for a brazenly fabricated drug possession case. [...] Another prominent Memorial activist, Yuri Dmitriev, acquitted of bogus child pornography charges in April, was re-arrested during the World Cup, apparently as part of a government smear campaign against the organization. Four members of Russian protest art group Pussy Riot were arrested after charging onto the stadium’s field in a bold political stunt during the final match. A security official who interrogated them cursed and said he regretted today wasn’t 1937, the worst year of Stalin’s Great Terror, when hundreds of thousands were executed. So as the largest football tournament winds up, the big picture is grim, and it’s no wonder many are concerned that after the World Cup, the already unprecedented crackdown on government critics will worsen. That said, there was one undeniably positive dimension to the 2018 World Cup. After years of increasing isolation, Russia opened up to over 800,000 fans from across the world. Hopefully, after cheering together and making friends with foreigners over football, the broader Russian public will realize the country is not a besieged fortress surrounded by enemies, and that the Kremlin’s rights crackdown and isolationist policies are both baseless and ultimately harmful to the country’s future."


     -  Tanya Lokshina, Associate Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch


Source: Tanya Lokshina, 'The Morning After Russia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup. Is There a Light for Human Rights at the End of the Tunnel?' Human Rights Watch, 16 July 2018

Dunja Mijatović: "I believe that decisive steps should be taken to ensure respect for Oyub Titiev's rights, including by urgently releasing him from custody"

posted 17 Jul 2018, 14:17 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 17 Jul 2018, 14:21 ]



"As regards Mr Titiev’s continued detention on remand over a prolonged period, I trust you would agree that deprivation of liberty may only be applied as a measure of last resort where other less restrictive measures cannot ensure the interests of justice. I would therefore be most grateful if you could provide information regarding the specific actions taken by your institution following the findings of the Presidential Human Rights Council in relation to Mr Oyub Titiev. In the meantime, I believe that decisive steps should be taken to ensure respect for his rights, including by urgently releasing him from custody."

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović in a letter to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yury Chaika on the case of Oyub Titiev


Photo: Facebook


The full letter reads:

Mr Yury CHAIKA Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation 

Strasbourg, 11 July 2018

Dear Mr Chaika, 

I am writing to you concerning the situation of Mr Oyub Titiev, the leading member of the Human Rights Centre Memorial in the Chechen Republic, who was deprived of his liberty in January this year and subsequently remanded in custody and criminally prosecuted for alleged drug possession. Mr Titiev is known for his important work in defending human rights in the North Caucasus and, in particular, for his quest for accountability for serious human rights violations by officials belonging to law enforcement agencies or other security structures. 

Last month, the Council on Human Rights and Civil Society Development under the President of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the Presidential Human Rights Council) issued an expert opinion of the follow-up given to Mr Titiev’s own statement alleging that the charges against him had been fabricated by law enforcement officials who had, according to him, “planted the evidence”. The aforementioned expert opinion concluded that the verifications undertaken following Mr Titiev’s counterclaim to the drug possession charge against him had been “artificially and unlawfully” circumscribed, with the aim of excluding information which would lead to the conclusion that the criminal case against Mr Titiev had been fabricated. Furthermore, the Presidential Human Rights Council observed that “all the refusals to open a criminal investigation following Mr Titiev’s complaints have been unsubstantiated and unjustified”. I understand that there has been a decision by your institution to conduct an inquiry into the shortcomings identified by the Presidential Human Rights Council. 

As Commissioner for Human Rights, I have a special duty in relation to human rights defenders. As such, it is my role to recall the key principle in this area: that states must create an environment conducive to the work of human rights defenders, enabling individuals, groups and associations to freely carry out activities, to promote and strive for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, without any restrictions. This is all the more important in settings which already present considerable challenges to the protection of human rights. 

In addition, I have noted that the Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Russian Federation, Ms Tatyana Moskalkova, and the Head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Mr Mikhail Fedotov, have repeatedly called for Mr Titiev’s case to be “transferred” outside the North Caucasus. The fact that they have done so demonstrates doubts as to the likelihood that Mr Titiev’s rights will be safeguarded if the case remains in the Chechen Republic. 

As regards Mr Titiev’s continued detention on remand over a prolonged period, I trust you would agree that deprivation of liberty may only be applied as a measure of last resort where other less restrictive measures cannot ensure the interests of justice. I would therefore be most grateful if you could provide information regarding the specific actions taken by your institution following the findings of the Presidential Human Rights Council in relation to Mr Oyub Titiev. In the meantime, I believe that decisive steps should be taken to ensure respect for his rights, including by urgently releasing him from custody. 

I stand ready to give my support, in accordance with my mandate, in order to promote the effective implementation of Council of Europe standards related to human rights protection. Please note that I intend to publish this communication, as well as any comments that you would wish to provide regarding the issues raised therein, and I look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with you. 

Yours sincerely, 

Dunja Mijatović

Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe

Gulnoza Said [Committee to Protect Journalists]: "We call on Russian authorities to reverse course and allow its citizens to receive information and opinion from a wide range of sources"

posted 13 Jul 2018, 12:38 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 13 Jul 2018, 12:48 ]





"Labeling journalists, including bloggers, as foreign agents is the latest step in the Russian authorities' systematic policy towards obstructing the free flow of news. We call on Russian authorities to reverse course and allow its citizens to receive information and opinion from a wide range of sources."


- Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia research associate, Committee to Protect Journalists. Gulnoza Said is a journalist and communications professional with over 15 years of experience in New York, Prague, Bratislava, and Tashkent. She has covered issues including politics, media, religion, and human rights with a focus on Central Asia, Russia, and Turkey. Photo: Twitter

On 3 July 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a press release, stating: 

'The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Russian authorities to refrain from labeling individual bloggers and journalists as foreign agents. The State Duma's information and communication committee today approved legislation that would allow authorities to label private persons as foreign agents if they work for organizations the Justice Ministry labels as foreign agents or receive funding for producing content for these organizations, according to mediareports. The proposed legislation would require individuals to go through annual audit, submit a bi-annual report on their work activities, and put a "foreign agent" label on all produced content, according to the reports.'

Sources:
'Russian Duma committee OKs legislation to label individual journalists "foreign agents",' Committee to Protect Journalists, 3 July 2018
'CPJ Blasts Russia's 'Systematic Policy' Of Obstructing Free Flow Of News,' RFE/RL, 4 July 2018

Boris Stomakhin: "The inability to relax for a single second; the constant anticipation of trouble or at the very least unpleasantness; and the frightening, oppressive internal tension triggered by this anticipation [...] is the worst, most difficult aspect of life in the prisons and penal colonies"

posted 10 Jul 2018, 12:44 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 10 Jul 2018, 12:51 ]

"The inability to relax for a single second; the constant anticipation of trouble or at the very least unpleasantness; and the frightening, oppressive internal tension triggered by this anticipation. That, I suppose, is the worst, most difficult aspect of life in the prisons and penal colonies after all of these years." 

- Boris Stomakhin, a left-wing publicist, currently in his fourth year of a seven-year sentenced based on two subsequent convictions. On 9 May 2018 in Stomakhin v Russia, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Stomakhin had been a victim of a violation of Article 10 [freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court concluded, inter alia,  'In view of the above, and particularly bearing in mind the authorities’ failure to demonstrate convincingly “the pressing social need” for an interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression in respect of a number of the impugned statements (see paragraph 124 above) as well as the severity of the penalty imposed on him, the Court finds that the interference in question was not “necessary in a democratic society”. There has accordingly been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention.'

RFE/RL comments: "The European Court of Human Rights last month concluded that Russia violated Stomakhin's right to free expression, but also said that authorities in some instances justifiably intervened due to his statements that "glorified terrorism and advocated and promoted violence and hatred." The court ordered Russia to pay Stomakhin 12,500 euros ($14,600) in damages, adding that Russia lacked "sufficient" justification for the "exceptional severity" of the five-year sentence and three-year ban on publishing for his 2006 conviction on charges of hate speech and public incitement to extremism. The Moscow-based Sova Center, a respected monitor of the use and abuse of antiextremism legislation in Russia, has called the charges against Stomakhin in that case "appropriate," while adding that it was "perplexed" by the harsh sentence. A well-known Russian neo-Nazi, by comparison, received a suspended sentence in 2006 after being convicted of hate speech that involved, in part, a manual for "street terror" posted on his political movement's website, the Sova Center noted. Now in his fourth year of a seven-year sentenced based on two subsequent convictions, Stomakhin says he is incarcerated "for thoughtcrime" -- using a term from George Orwell's dystopic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four -- "and nothing else."'

Source: "
'Only For Thoughtcrime': Meet Boris Stomakhin, Russia's Longest-Serving 'Hate-Speech' Prisoner," RFE/RL, 6 July 2018

Tanya Lokshina [Human Rights Watch]: "We have 17 days to go till the World Cup ends. FIFA has announced its concern for human rights defenders, and pressing Russian officials to release human rights activists would set an important precedent that sports bodies will use their leverage for good"

posted 2 Jul 2018, 07:06 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 2 Jul 2018, 07:09 ]

"We’re desperate for news of Sentsov’s release. Just like we’re craving the release of Oyub Titiev, the Chechnya director of Russia’s leading rights group, Memorial, who is jailed in Grozny on trumped-up drug possession charges. This, while the ruthless head of Russia’s Chechen Republic was lavishly entertaining the Egyptian national team training there during the World Cup. Instead, we’ve that learned Titiev’s case will go to trial very soon. And on Wednesday, we found out another Memorial activist, Yuri Dmitriev, is back in jail in north-western Russia. Dmitriev is known for documenting mass graves of people shot during Stalin’s terror. Just a few months ago, Russian civil society had celebrated Dmitriev’s acquittal in a trumped-up child pornography case. Now the authorities arrested him again, based on what could be another fabricated, similar case against him. The clock is ticking. We have 17 days to go till the World Cup ends. FIFA has announced its concern for human rights defenders, and pressing Russian officials to release human rights activists would set an important precedent that sports bodies will use their leverage for good. There’s still time for FIFA and key international actors to use their leverage and urge Russia to free these unjustly detained people before the tournament’s last game."

        - Tanya Lokshina, Russia Program Director, Human Rights Watch

Source: Tanya Lokshina, "Jailed Critics, Activists in Russia Still Waiting for Freedom. Will There be Good News before World Cup Ends in Two Weeks?" Human Rights Watch, 29 June 2018

Rachel Denber [Human Rights Watch]: "Russia should do right by its national and international obligations to respect freedom of religion"

posted 2 Jul 2018, 05:15 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 2 Jul 2018, 05:19 ]




“The Jehovah’s Witnesses are simply peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion. The Jehovah’s Witness faith is not an extremist organization, and authorities should stop this religious persecution of its worshipers now. Russia should do right by its national and international obligations to respect freedom of religion. Russian leadership should make sure that law enforcement is honoring and protecting that right, not trampling on it.”

Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch


Source: 'Russia: Sweeping Arrests of Jehovah’s Witnesses,' Human Rights Watch, 28 June 2018

Anastasia Kovalevskaya [Amnesty International]: "We reiterate our call on the Russian authorities to drop all restrictive policies on public gatherings and to stop treating freedom of assembly as a privilege they can either give or deny to the Russian people"

posted 28 Jun 2018, 12:37 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 28 Jun 2018, 21:39 ]



"This long-awaited resolution will hopefully provide some much-needed protections to peaceful protesters in Russia – especially the provisions aimed at reducing their arrests and administrative detentions. Over the past year and a half we have documented numerous cases where people were denied their basic right to gather peacefully. However, this resolution will mean nothing unless it is effectively implemented. And it’s only a half-measure, as comprehensive and meticulous work is needed to bring Russian legislation on public gatherings into compliance with international human rights law and standards. We reiterate our call on the Russian authorities to drop all restrictive policies on public gatherings and to stop treating freedom of assembly as a privilege they can either give or deny to the Russian people.”

    - Anastasia Kovalevskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher, responding to the resolution by the Plenum of the Russian Supreme Court to provide guidance to lower courts hearing cases related to public assemblies

Source: 'Russia: Supreme Court Plenum resolution is glimmer of hope for the right to protest,' Amnesty International, 27 June 2018

Photo: Facebook

Marie Struthers [Amnesty International]: "The Russian authorities seem to believe that they can address topical societal issues by shutting down any public debate about them"

posted 25 Jun 2018, 14:20 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 25 Jun 2018, 14:27 ]



“The extortionate fine imposed on 7x7 is ridiculous. This is an act of censorship and a blatant violation of freedom of expression that must be reversed immediately.  The Russian authorities seem to believe that they can address topical societal issues by shutting down any public debate about them – on this occasion, by using draconian laws to persecute an independent media outlet. The government has already banned public discussion of various topics, such as LGBTI rights, and has labelled peaceful political dissent as ‘extremism’. The fine against 7x7 is, without doubt, a message to all Russian media that there will be severe consequences for discussing subjects of public interest that are uncomfortable for the government.”


- Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Source: 'Russia: Extortionate fine for airing drug legalization interview a repressive act of censorship,' Amnesty International, 21 June 2018

Peter Tatchell: I’m not here to tell Russians what to do. I’m supporting Russian LGBT+ advocates and other human rights defenders. They want President Putin to uphold Russia’s constitution and its international human rights obligations [...]. I am fearful of arrest and violent attack but undeterred"

posted 13 Jun 2018, 09:21 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 13 Jun 2018, 09:24 ]

"I’m not here to tell Russians what to do. I’m supporting Russian LGBT+ advocates and other human rights defenders. They want President Putin to uphold Russia’s constitution and its international human rights obligations, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, which Russia signed and pledged to uphold. I am fearful of arrest and violent attack but undeterred. Inspired by the campaigning and heroism of Russian LGBT+s, I’m acting in solidarity with their battle for equal human rights. Russia should not be allowed to bask in World Cup glory while abusing LGBT+ people and committing war crimes in Syria, the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time."

    - Peter Tatchell, British human rights defender

Photo Source: Wikipedia 

Source: Peter Tatchell, 'Gay rights abuses, war crimes and World Cup fever – it’s an ugly mix,' The Guardian, 13 June 2018


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