Russia

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that human rights defender, Mr Lev Ponomarev, was assaulted and beaten on 31 March 2009. Lev Ponomarev is Head of For Human Rights, an organisation that monitors and reports on human rights violations in the Russian Federation.

Front Line is deeply concerned following information received regarding the assassination of Russian human rights lawyer, Mr Stanislav Markelov, on 19 January 2009. Stanislav Markelov was the lawyer for the family of Elsa Kungayeva, an 18 year-old Chechen girl who was allegedly abducted and killed in March 2000 by Russian army Colonel Yuri Budanov. Colonel Budanov was arrested in 2000, sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment three years later, but released on parole on 15 January 2009.

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of an attack on the home of human rights defender Stanislav Dmitrievsky. Stanislav Dmitrievsky is a consultant with the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance, and was previously Chairperson of its predecessor, the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), before it was closed in Russia by authorities. Stanislav Dmitrievsky was also the subject of a Front Line urgent action on 15 April 2008 and has received threats regularly since 2005.

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that three family members of human rights defender, Ilyas Timishev, have been detained, questioned and ill-treated in Chechnya since 15 July 2008. Ilyas Timishev is a human rights lawyer who has brought a number of cases before the European Court for Human Rights and is currently working to defend the rights of members of the Chechen police force who have not been paid.

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that charges of extremism have been brought against Yury Samodurov, director of the Sakharov Centre in Moscow. The Sakharov Centre is an art museum which is also used for human rights events such as press conferences and seminars, and has extensive literature on human rights in its library.