Russia

Russia: ‘We play our own tunes...'

This piece originally from www.hro.org deals with the recent "Law on Non-Commercial Organisations Performing the Function of Foreign Agents" which has been used to put pressure upon Civil Society.

Aleksandr Cherkasov, director of the Memorial Human Rights Centre and member of the board of the International Memorial Society, answers a question put to him by the journalist Natalya Granina: ‘Is it ethical for Russian non-profit organizations to receive money from abroad?’

Let’s be clear about what is ethical and what is not ethical. Imagine a restaurant. It suddenly turns out that the food there is not very good. And someone calls in the inspectors. The inspector arrives, goes into the kitchen, and comes out with a plastic bag which contains something wrapped up, and says: ‘Everything is fine here. I’ve checked.

Joint statement calling for end to Russian crack-down on civil societyposted on: 2012/12/19

A summit between the European Union and Russia is due to take place this week in Brussels on 21 December. In response a collection of international civil society organisations, including Front Line Defenders, have released a joint statement calling upon European leaders to join them in urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to repeal a series of new laws 'significantly hindering the operation of national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as international NGOs supporting them'

Front Line Defenders launches Cycle for Protectionposted on: 2012/10/07

0n 7 October the Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr. Naoise Ó'Muirí launched the first ever Front Line Defenders Cycle For Protection. The Lord Mayor was joined by Front Line Defenders Founder & Executive Director Mary Lawlor and special guest speakers Olga Sadovskaya from the Russian Federation and Farai Maguwu from Zimbabwe. They were also accompanied by the team of 20 cyclists who will undertake the Front Line Defenders Cycle for Protection Challenge; cycling from Dublin to Kilkenny, Cork, Limerick, Galway & Athlone.

Front Line Defenders Staff Launch Cycle for Protection with Dublin City Lord Mayor Naoise Ó'MuiríFront Line Defenders Staff Launch Cycle for Protection with Dublin City Lord Mayor Naoise Ó'Muirí

The international blame game on Syria looks different from Johannesburg

It was interesting to spend a few days in South Africa last week and to hear some different perspectives from the media and from those I met with about the resignation of Kofi Annan and the unfolding developments in Syria. The Western media has been lamenting how the protection of civilians in Syria has been cruelly thwarted by the pesky Russians who are determined to maintain a naval base on the Mediterranean. Those I spoke with in Johannesburg were not lacking in compassion for the innocent victims in Syria, but they were much more critical about what they perceived as the duplicity and double standards of Western Governments.

The West is perceived to be seeking to topple an authoritarian regime in Syria not because of any commitment to the human rights of people in Syria, but because of a desire to weaken Iran. Several people pointed out to me that alongside a public strategy of blaming Russia the West has been quietly supporting the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to arm opposition groups in Syria.

Dublin: MAFIA STATE - Author and former Guardian Moscow correspondent Luke Harding to speak in Dublinposted on: 2012/04/13

Luke Harding, the Guardian's former Moscow correspondent and the author of Mafia State: How one reporter became an enemy of the brutal new Russia, will be the guest speaker at a public meeting in Seán MacBride House, 48 Fleet Street on 19 April at 7.30pm hosted by Front Line Defenders and Amnesty International

Russian Federation: Brutal attack on human rights defender Mr Philipp Kostenkoposted on: 2012/02/07

On 3 February 2012, human rights defender Mr Philipp Kostenko was attacked and badly beaten by two unidentified individuals in Saint Petersburg.

Russian Federation: Update - Investigations into the case brought by human rights defender and lawyer Ms Sapiyat Magomedova against police officers and counter claim put on holdposted on: 2012/01/24

Ms Sapiyat Magomedova was informed by reliable sources that further investigations into the case which she initiated against two police officers, Batirbi Magdiev and Nariman Mollaev, have been put on hold.

Russian Federation: Detention of human rights defender Mr Anton Ryzhov on his way from Chechnyaposted on: 2012/01/23

On 21 January 2012, human rights defender Mr Anton Ryzhov was temporarily detained in Nizhny Novgorod as he was on his way back from Chechnya.

Russian Federation: Human rights defender Mr Igor Kalyapin at risk of facing a criminal charge of disclosing State secretsposted on: 2012/01/20

On 18 January 2012, human rights defender Mr Igor Kalyapin was informed that a statement had been filed with the investigative authorities in the Chechen Republic accusing him of disclosing State secrets.

Igor Kalyapin is chairman of the Committee Against Torture, and founder and President of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG), who received the Front Line Defenders Award in April 2011 for their work in investigating torture and disappearances in Chechnya.

On 18 January 2012, Igor Kalyapin was notified by Mr Igor Sobol, Senior Investigator at the Department for the Investigation of Serious Cases of the Central Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Prosecutor’s Office, that the leader of the Chechen OMON (special police forces) had filed a statement accusing him of disclosing State secrets. On the basis of the statement, an enquiry was launched and a criminal case may be opened against Igor Kalyapin. Such disclosure constitutes a crime under Article 283 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and carries with it a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years.

The filing of this statement comes in the context of recent progress made in investigations conducted by the JMG, who works with Igor Sobol's investigative group, into cases in which members of the Chechen OMON are the chief suspects, in particular the abduction and subsequent ill-treatment of Mr Islam Umarpashayev. This case is the most high-profile case of the JMG and is currently under investigation by a group led by Igor Sobol. Igor Kalyapin represents the victim in that investigation. The “State secrets” allegedly disclosed refer to the fact Igor Kalyapin identified the place where Islam Umarpashayev was illegally detained on blogs that he wrote in the summer of 2011.

Igor Kalyapin described how the investigating group, accompanied by the JMG and Islam Umarpashayev, had attempted to enter the place where the victim had been detained in order for him to formally identify it for the purpose of the investigation.