Stanislav Dmitrievskii campaigns for the right to freedom of assembly and fair elections © Strategy 31, Nizhnii Novgorod
By Friederike Behr, Russia researcher for Amnesty International
Stanislav Dmitrievskii is a veteran human rights defender and political activist from Nizhnii Novgorod, a town East of Moscow.
During recent months he has actively participated in numerous demonstrations for the right to freedom of assembly and for fair elections. And he has been repeatedly detained.
Continue reading ‘Facing intimidation in the fight for human rights in Russia’
Oleg Orlov is charged with slander for saying that the Chechen President was responsible for the death of Natalia Estemirova © Amnesty International
By Friederike Behr, Russia researcher for Amnesty International
On 3 March, I attended yet another hearing in the trial of Oleg Orlov. The head of the Russian NGO Human Rights Centre Memorial is charged with slander for saying that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov was responsible for the death of his colleague, human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, who was abducted and murdered in 2009.
Amnesty International has called for the criminal charges to be dropped. This trial should not happen at all. Defamation laws have no place in criminal law. In addition they should not be used to provide any special protection for public officials, nor should public authorities take part in bringing actions for alleged defamation of public officials.
Continue reading ‘Trial of Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov continues’
Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre 'Memorial' © Tomasz Kizny
By Friederike Behr, Russia researcher for Amnesty International
After eighteen months of excuses, the Moscow authorities finally gave permission for a ‘31st Day’ demonstration on Sunday in support of the right to freedom of assembly.
The organizers of the demonstration had been continuously trying since May 2009 to get permission from the Moscow authorities to hold a 6pm demonstration on the 31st day of any possible month on Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square, in support of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly.
There was massive police presence at the demonstration, and according to media reports the police detained 28 people. Everyone who wanted to attend had to go through a metal detector. Continue reading ‘Russian demonstrators vow to continue the fight for freedom of assembly’
Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead at her Moscow apartment in 2006 © Katja Tähjä
By Friederike Behr, Russian Federation researcher for Amnesty International
This week it is four years since the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist who since 1999 had written continuously about human rights abuses in Chechnya for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
On Saturday, 7 October 2006 Anna Politkovskaya was shot entering the elevator of the apartment building in the centre of Moscow where she lived. The woman who had faced many dangerous situations and who had been threatened repeatedly was shot at pointblank range after returning from a trip to a supermarket.
Continue reading ‘Anna Politkovskaya’s killer still at large four years on’
Andrei Yerofeev and Yuri Samodurov will continue their battle to prove their innocence © Amnesty International
By Friederike Behr, Russian Federation researcher for Amnesty International
I attended several of the appeal hearings at Moscow City Court, which on Monday upheld the July verdict of the Taganskii District Court that two art exhibition organizers were guilty of inciting hatred or enmity against a religious group and of denigration of human dignity.
Andrei Yerofeev and Yuri Samodurov were sentenced to pay a fine of 350, 000 Russian Roubles (8375 Euros). They intend to continue their legal battle to prove their innocence.
Continue reading ‘Still no justice for Russian art exhibition organizers’
