Ramzan Dzhalaldinov
Ramzan Dzhalaldinov is a human rights defender from Kenkhi, a mountain village in Chechnya’s remote Charoi region, whose infrastructure has been extensively damaged and destroyed as a result of the recent Chechen wars and seasonal landslides. Since 2010, Ramzan Dzhalaldinov has been demanding the Chechen government launch the reconstruction of the village as the required funding was allocated by the Russian government in 2004. In April 2016, Ramzan Dzhalaldinov recorded a video, which was then widely shared via online media platforms and television networks, where he voiced his concerns about the continuous disregard of the Chechen authority vis-à-vis of the situation of the village and accused Chechen authorities of corruption and misuse of public funds. Since sharing the video, Ramzan Dzhalaldinov has been subjected to death threats against him and his family, intimidations, arson of his home, and the confiscation of his passport. His family members have also been physically attacked.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) in the Russian Federation have been subjected to acts of harassment, surveillance, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, violent attacks, raids and searches on their offices and homes, slander and smear campaigns, judicial harassment, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment.
Among the HRDs who are particularly at risk are those involved on issues such as election monitoring, the situation in the North Caucasus (particularly Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan), xenophobia and nationalism, and LGBTI rights. Environmental rights defenders have been particularly exposed to physical and verbal attacks in recent years. Those expressing criticism of the authorities or attempting to organise protests are also routinely targeted.
