Human rights analysts of the Regional Human Rights Association “Agora” summarized the facts of persecuting Russian civic activists and non-governmental organizations of the first half-year of 2008. (31-JULY-08)
Written by Maria Paramonova/HRH Moscow
Link: http://www.hro1.org/node/2696
This year from 1 January to 30 June the Association registered 78 such cases received from 23 regions of the Russian Federation. For comparison – last year for the same period human rights activists recorded 106 such cases out of 38 regions of the Russian Federation. In the Association notes a trend: in the first half of this year, especially after the March presidential election, widespread pressure on civil activists which was identified in previous years changed for selective and point persecution.
In the first half-year the fights against extremism was used as a pretext for persecution of civil activists. In February under the article “Participation in the activities of extremist organizations” was initiated a criminal case related with the spread of symbolism the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The most resonant cases in the first half of 2008 year also were the persecution of activists of the Council of Elders Balkar People, the Chechen Committee for National Rescue, the Voices of Beslan and the Sakharov Museum and Public.
Since 8 April to 31 June 2008 at the federal free number 8-800-3333-068 of the “Direct Line to protect the NGO” 236 calls from 39 Russian regions were received. 34 issues came to online version of the project. Generally calls to lawyers were related with the activities of the Federal Registration Service. On 20 May the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation created a dangerous judicial precedent in favor of registering and controlling bodies which allow them to eliminate non-governmental organizations which have educational signs of activity, but operating without a license.
Analysts wrote that activity of the Federal Registration Service remained the most common way to pressure of government bodies to the non-profit organizations in this period. Firstly on 12 May President Dmitry Medvedev, and then on 12 June Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a “death sentence” to the Federal Registration Service by depriving its functions for registration and control of NGOs and by obliging this Service to be eliminated since 1 October.
According to the Association “Agora” since the beginning of 2008 year 94 activists were detained for organizing and participating in public activities in the Russian Federation, 13of them were subjected to criminal prosecution. During this period five representatives from NGOs and one lawyer were attacked. Arrests were primarily related to the pickets and rallies in support of Maxim Reznyk (Yabloko-Party) and preparation for “Marsh of Dissent” on 2-3 in March 2008 in St. Petersburg.
By the assessment of human rights defenders in the January-June 2008 the crisis in criminal investigations of the attacks on civilian activists became worse. So an assassin of well-known human rights defenders from Vorkuta Zhorovlya Ludmila and her son who were shot in their apartment in summer 2005 were not found. A criminal case of attack of armed men to the president of the Human Rights Center “Memorial” Oleg Orlov in autumn 2007 was suspended because of the unidentified perpetrators of this crime.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2008 year some civic activists in the Russian Federation were able to protect their own rights and interests that hope retains for judicial protection suspected to qualified legal assistance. “The Association for the Rights of Voters “Voice”” in Samara (in March 2008) and the Fund” Voice-Volga” (in May 2008) upheld the right to exist in the confrontation with the Federal Registration Service. On 14 March the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation agreed to eliminate the ban on the organization by just formal reasons. Prosecution of a leader of the “Educated Media” Manana Aslamazyan was ended who law enforcement authorities suspected of illegal smuggling of currency from abroad to finance their organization. In the case of Mrs. Aslamazyan the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation pronounced precedent judgment by changing the understanding of the term “smuggling” and partially decriminalized it.
Analyzing the case of Manana Aslamazyan, human rights analysts noted that the power structures continue to use criminal articles to exert pressure on civil activists but this half-year two such attempts ended in complete failure. This also applies to criminal cases against human rights defenders and independent journalists against whom law enforcement authorities initiated criminal cases for using unlicensed software. As a result the Microsoft Company, denying the fact of using struggle with piracy by Russian authorities to exert pressure on NGOs and independent journalists, in the first half of 2008 declared that the media will be able to obtain license software with the discount, and the NGOs will have virtually free.
Analysts’ projection for second half-year
Lawyers predict that in the second half-year the fights against extremism will effort as a pretext for persecution of civil activists. Moreover, analysts predict an increase of number of problems of grants recipients from the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation because next half-year will increase significantly the number of inspections of this organizations, in particular, by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service and Budgetary Supervision.
Under the civil activist in this monitoring meant people were systematically engaged in public activities aimed at protecting the rights and interests of the individual against unlawful actions of the authorities, acting alone or organization composed.
