End Harassment of Human Rights Defenders in Russia

Alert Issued: August 29, 2007

On August 29, 2007, police raided the office of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance, the successor to the Russian Chechen Friendship Society, with an order to seize the organization’s computers to investigate alleged “computer related crimes.”  The police also said that they were carrying out an investigation into the organization’s finances.

The raid has resulted in further disruption of the legitimate activities of a non-violent independent human rights organization that has now been the target of sustained repression for over two years.  It follows in quick succession the further restrictions imposed on the organization’s director, Stanislav Dmitrievsky on August 17, 2007.

Please protest the continuing official harassment directed against the Russian Chechen Friendship Society.

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On August 29, 2007 police raided the office of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance, the successor to the Russian Chechen Friendship Society, with an order to seize the organization’s computers to investigate alleged “computer related crimes.”  The police also said that they were carrying out an investigation into the organization’s finances.

The raid has resulted in further disruption of the legitimate activities of a non-violent independent human rights organization that has now been the target of sustained repression for over two years.  In that time, the organization’s leaders have received threats; RCFS director Stanislav Dmitrievsky has been prosecuted and convicted under laws supposedly intended to curb racist violence but increasingly used by the authorities to penalize peaceful dissent, including the legitimate work of human rights defenders; the organization has been ordered to close, forcing it to re-register under a new name, and to create a base of operations outside of Russia; and on August 17, 2007, a court in Nizhny Novgorod imposed further restrictions on the activities of Stanislav Dmitrievsky.

Human Rights First regards all of these measures as unwarranted official interference in the legitimate activities of a human rights organization.  We are concerned that these measures may be indicative of an escalation of repression against non-violent independent non-governmental organizations in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia.  On August 28, 2007, Almaz Choloyan, of the Nizhny Novgorod Center to Support Migrants, was informed that she was the subject of a criminal investigation and banned from leaving the city.  Police and security officers who raided her apartment and the organization’s office warned her that she could risk prosecution for “stirring up ethnic hatred” for her activities in support of the rights of vulnerable migrants.

Also on August 28, 2007, at a meeting of the regional counterterrorism committee of the Nizhny Novgorod district, the regional governor announced the creation of a “list of extremists” and the need to “check the activities of all organizations where young people work.”

Activists in Nizhny Novgorod fear that in the months leading up to the 2008 presidential elections, further measures will be taken to disrupt the activities of independent non-governmental organizations, especially those that are publicly critical of various aspects of government policy.

For More Information:
Russia's Human Rights Defenders in Danger: The Example of the Russian Chechen Friendship Society
 

Letter

I write to protest against the continuing official harassment directed against the Russian Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), an independent non-governmental organization in Nizhny Novgorod, now registered as the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance.

On August 29, 2007 police raided the organization’s office with an order to seize the computers in order to investigate alleged “computer-related crimes.” I fear that this raid is a continuation of the official harassment of the RCFS that has been sustained for more than two years, including the prosecution of its director, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, on baseless charges of  “inciting ethnic hatred” through misapplication of the law designed to combat extremism and racist violence and the subsequent order for the organization to close.

Stanislav Dmitrievsky and the RCFS are subject to this campaign of official harassment for their legitimate, peaceful activities as human rights defenders.  Dmitrievsky has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that his prosecution and conviction constitute a violation of his right to freedom of expression, provided for in the Russian Constitution and in binding international human rights treaties to which Russia is a State Party.  The ECHR has agreed to consider his complaint.

I call on you to cease the harassment directed against the RCFS.  Dmitrievsky’s 2006 conviction should be annulled and the closure order against the RCFS should be lifted.  He and the organization should be able to engage in their non-violent, legitimate activities free from official interference and obstruction of all kinds.  The current investigation into “alleged computer crimes” should be discontinued.

The activities of independent non-governmental organizations are an essential element of an open democratic society.  Government officials should recognize the important work of human rights defenders and should support them for their valuable activities.

Sincerely,