Observers of St. Petersburg
The public organization "Observers of St. Petersburg and the North-West Region" provides coordination of actions of all public observers of St. Petersburg, which stand for fair elections. The NGO has District Coordinators responsible for the districts in St. Petersburg. "Observers of St. Petersburg" is a voluntary association established to achieve the following objectives: protection of electoral rights of citizens, protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, development of civil society.
Members of the organization can not be top leaders of political parties and movements, persons who replace state and municipal posts of the Russian Federation, persons who are on the state and municipal service of the Russian Federation, deputies of elected bodies.
The environment for the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) in the Russian Federation is difficult, especially for those who defend and promote the rights of LGBTI people, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, as well as activists of the North Caucasus and the unlawfully annexed Crimean Peninsula. HRDs are often subjected to acts of harassment, surveillance, physical attacks, threat, raids and searches on their offices and homes, slander and smear campaigns, judicial harassment, arbitrary detention, and ill-treatment, as well as violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. There have also been cases where HRDs have been murdered as a result of their work.
