Quote for the Day
Marie Struthers [Amnesty International]: "The protection of Irina Biryukova and Yevgeny Makarov must be a priority for the Russian authorities"
 - Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Source: 'Russia: Lawyer covering torture case flees country after threats,' Amnesty International, 23 July 2018On 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. |
Tanya Lokshina: "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"
 - 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 Source: Letter of Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović to Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yury Chaika, Council of Europe, 11 July 2018 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"
 - 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"
 - 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"
 - 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"
 - 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"
 - 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"
 - 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"
 - Peter Tatchell, British human rights defender 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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