Written evidence submitted by Amnesty
International
Amnesty International is a worldwide membership
movement. Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys
all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. We promote all human rights and undertake research
and action focussed on preventing grave abuses of the rights to
physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression
and freedom from discrimination.
Amnesty International welcomes the inquiry by
the Foreign Affairs Committee into the Russian Federation. We
submit our views below on three key human rights challenges currently
persisting in the Russian Federation and make some recommendations
regarding actions on the part of the UK government.
SUMMARY
Amnesty International is gravely concerned over:
— the persistent impunity for
human rights violations perpetrated by state officials in the
North Caucasus and in the course of the second Chechen conflict;
— the dramatic deterioration of
freedom of expression and assembly in Russia, as well as the increased
pressure on civil society organisations in general and human rights
organisations in particular; and
— the disturbing upsurge in racist
attacks and killings. The response of the Russian authorities
to violent racist attacks continues to fall short of its obligations
under international law.
PERSISTENT IMPUNITY
FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The Russian authorities' record on investigation,
prosecution and conviction of state officials for serious violations
of human rights and humanitarian law in the North Caucasus, in
the course of the second Chechen conflict, falls far short of
its obligations under international law. At the same time, according
to Amnesty International's information, there have been hundreds
of prosecutions of alleged participants in terrorist activities
in the Chechen Republic, resulting in convictions. Amnesty International
and other human rights organisations have gathered information
indicating that many of these convictions are based on fabricated
accusations and that the accused may have signed a "confession"
under torture or ill-treatment. Amnesty International has interviewed
several men and women from the North Caucasus, who had been detained
during the last two to three years in the region. All of them
told Amnesty International they had been tortured in order to
extract a confession. While several of the interviewees had complained
about their treatment to the authorities, Amnesty International
is not aware of investigations against anyone responsible for
the alleged torture of the detainees. Several of those interviewed
by Amnesty International later fled the Russian Federation for
fear of renewed persecution.
Amnesty International is aware that the Office
of the Public Prosecutor has opened a large number of investigations
into alleged serious human rights violations committed by state
officials not only in the North Caucasus, but also in other regions
of the Russian Federation. However, it appears that many of these
investigations of serious human rights violations are conducted
wholly ineffectively and do not, as a rule, lead to the prosecution
of the suspected perpetrator. One reason for this apparent lack
of will to prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations is
structural: the Office of the Public Prosecutor is both responsible
for the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes, and the
supervision of the legality of actions of state officials. This
dual role means that investigations into allegations of torture
are conducted by the same Public Prosecutor's office that was
responsible for leading the investigation during which the torture
allegedly took place. Such investigations fail to meet the necessary
requirements of independence and impartiality. The government
of the Russian Federation has recently announced its intention
to establish an independent body of investigation within the procuracy.
It remains to be seen if such a division of responsibility will
be successful in enhancing the rule of law and ending impunity.
Today, despite claims by Russian and Chechen
officials that the situation in Chechnya is normalising, there
continue to be reports about serious human rights violations committed
in the Chechen Republic and other regions of the North Caucasus.
Given the scale of the violations committed, relatively few Russian
federal and Chechen law enforcement officers, security service
officers and military servicemen have been prosecuted and convicted
as a result of such investigations, for crimes relating to torture,
extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances, rape, and
indiscriminate use of force, resulting in the loss of civilian
life. Those cases which are currently before Russian courts have
been ongoing for years, which adds to the perception among the
population in the North Caucasus, that their rights can be violated
with impunity. In this context Amnesty International would like
to draw attention to the continuing failure of the authorities
to bring to justice those who are responsible for any of the many
cases of enforced disappearance in the North Caucasus. Currently,
the organisation is aware of only one case where a state agent
has been found guilty specifically for the enforced disappearance
of an individual in Chechnya. The Russian NGO "Memorial"
estimate that over the conflict, between 3,000 and 5,000 people
have been subjected to enforced disappearance or have been abducted.
The lack of effective investigation of these violations is a major
obstacle to tackling impunity. In addition, the lack of a functioning
forensics institute in Chechnya has hampered work to identify
bodies in the 52 mass graves recorded in the republic. Individual
bodies are sent to Mozdok in North Ossetia for identification,
but the forensic facility in Mozdok does not have the resources
to undertake a large scale exhumation and identification process.
Given the widespread human rights violations
in Chechnya, Amnesty International believes that those in charge
of the disinterment and investigation of these grave sites must
operate with the clear mandate of investigating human rights violations,
including enforced disappearances, torture and extra-judicial
executions, that have taken place during the two Chechen conflicts.
Many of those individuals who turn to the European
Court of Human Rights in order to find justice for those human
rights violations they have been subjected to, continue to face
harassment and persecution in reported attempts to encourage them
to withdraw their complaints. In this context it is also very
important to note that Russia is yet to fully implement those
decisions of the European Court of Human Rights finding serious
human rights violations in the context of the conflict in Chechnya.
Amnesty International advocates that the UK
government should:
— urge the Russian authorities
to take all necessary measures to immediately end human rights
violations by law enforcement officials, especially in the North
Caucasus;
— urge the Russian government
to carry out investigations of the recognised mass graves fully
and impartially, and in line with UN guidelines on the disinterment
and analysis of skeletal remains, as set out in the Minnesota
Protocol. Meanwhile the sites must be protected from any interference.
Adequate resources should be made available to ensure that this
work can be started without further delay; and
— urge the Russian government
to fully cooperate with the European Court of Human Rights, including
ensuring criminal investigations are effective and end in prosecutions
and convictions of those reasonably suspected or named in the
European Court decisions as being responsible for violations such
as enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, and indiscriminate
use of force.
FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND PRESSURE
ON NGOS
Human rights defenders are subjected to administrative
harassment and face other pressures, including anonymous death
threats. The new legal provisions and regulations brought into
law in April 2006 governing NGOs have impeded the work of Russian
and foreign NGOs. It appears the Russian authorities have attempted
on several occasions to use the new provisions in order to interfere
in the lawful work of human rights organisations and other civil
society activists. The closure of the Russian-Chechen Friendship
Society in January 2007 has been widely publicised; it appears
that in this case both the new law on NGOs as well as amendments
to the law on extremism have been used to clamp down on an independent
human rights organisation and to silence dissent. Other organisations
have been affected by various restrictions and actions undertaken
by the authorities, which may have been attempts to hamper the
ability of these NGOs to continue their work independently. Such
restrictions range from being fined for holding an allegedly "unsanctioned
meeting" in a public place with members of a foreign NGO
to having to divert human resources to additional administrative
tasks, thereby being unable to undertake activities which are
at the core of the work of human rights NGOs.
Not only does the law on NGOs give increased
power of scrutiny to the authorities about the activities of NGOs,
it also allows arbitrariness in its implementation due to the
lack of precise legal definitions of some aspects of the law.
Negative statements made by government officials
and in the media over the last years have added to a climate of
mistrust towards all NGOs, which have been presented either as
foreign spies, supporters of terrorism or simply as oriented against
Russian interests. To Amnesty International's knowledge none of
these allegations have been substantiated to date.
As a consequence, several human rights NGOs
have expressed concern that previously good contacts with the
authorities have soured, simply due to the political climate in
which law enforcement officials do not wish to be seen as co-operating
with NGOs, even on non-controversial issues such as the promotion
of respect for human rights, and tolerance.
Civil society activists, including those who
are promoting the rights of ethnic or religious minorities are
repeatedly under pressure from local or regional authorities.
Members of the Muslim community have told Amnesty International
about repeated checks on those attending mosques regularly and
about various acts of intimidation and harassment by the law enforcement
agencies against those who dress according to religious rules
In the Republic of Mari El Amnesty International
has learned about the clamp-down on organisations promoting Mari
culture and language. Two activists, including a pagan priest,
have been found guilty of inciting racial hatred or slander, while
others have been physically attacked under circumstances which
may suggest political motives behind the attack.
Amnesty International is concerned as well about
attempts to intimidate human rights lawyers especially those acting
on behalf of former YUKOS owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky (see Annex),
who have raised concern about the numerous alleged procedural
violations during the judicial process.
There is less space for peaceful exercise of
the right to freedom of expression and assembly. Journalists are
intimidated and in some cases attacked, killed or forced into
exile. In particular, journalists reporting from the North Caucasus,
including Chechnya have received threats and have been warned
by individuals working for the law enforcement agencies not to
write critically about the situation in the region.
Bans on demonstrations are not always legitimate
or proportionate restrictions of freedom of assembly. Peaceful
protesters have been detained despite informing the authorities
of their intention to demonstrate as required in law; journalists
monitoring demonstrations have also been detained. Participants
at the recent marches of dissent felt that the official response
had been grossly disproportionate. Reportedly, 20,000 police officers
were deployed in order to prevent the march of dissent in Nizhnii
Novgorod on 24 March 2007.
At demonstrations in Moscow and St Petersburg
on 14 and 15 April 2007 there were reports of police ill-treatment,
including kicking and hitting with batons. This was despite official
declarations made by law enforcement officials that demonstrators
would be treated "politely" and in line with the law.
Amnesty International delegates along with other monitors and
participants of the "Dissenters' March" witnessed members
of the special police unit (OMON) beat peaceful participants in
both Moscow and St Petersburg. According to medical staff in one
of the hospitals close to the events in Moscow, 54 people sought
medical assistance from them on Saturday with injuries sustained
during the violent dispersal of the "Dissenters' March".
In view of the upcoming elections new regulations
are being discussed, which may make demonstrations in major cities
such as Moscow nearly impossible due to broad restrictions, such
as prohibiting demonstrations in front of historical monuments.
Amnesty International advocates that the UK
government should:
— urge the Russian government
to amend the law on NGOs in order to allow civil society organisations
to be able to continue their valuable work;
— urge the Russian government
to respect the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression,
to investigate without delay human rights violations which have
occurred during the policing of recent demonstrations in Samara,
St. Petersburg, Moscow and Nizhnii Novgorod;
— urge the Russian authorities
to refrain from disproportionate and punitive measures of restriction
of activities of NGOs and civil society activists;
— urge the Russian government
to fully and thoroughly investigate the killing of Anna Politkovskaya
as well as the killings of other journalists. It should also closely
follow the investigations of attacks on civil society activists,
such as the attack on Galina Kozlova and her husband Victor Kozlov
(see Annex).
RACISM
The response of the Russian authorities to violent
racist attacks continues to fall short of its obligations under
international law. There still appears to be no comprehensive
federal programme to combat racist and xenophobic ideas and ideologies.
New amendments to the law on extremism seem to be used inconsistently
in tackling crimes based on racist and extremist views. There
has been a noticeable rise in the number of prosecutions and convictions
of race hate crimes reported in the Russian media, which is to
be welcomed. There is also a growing number of initiatives from
NGOs and civil society activists in order to increase inter-ethnic
tolerance and to combat racist attitudes. At the same time the
figures for racially motivated crimes remain high, there are nearly
daily reports of attacks on non-Russians and people from an ethnic
minority background, many of which reportedly have a racist context.
SOVA, the Russian non-governmental informational analytical organisation
found that in 2006, 54 people died in Russia as a result of crimes
based on racism and xenophobia. The centre concluded that such
crimes are on the rise in Russia.
Anti-racism campaigners continue to face threats
because of their work while the authorities often seem to be reluctant
to investigate death threats. There have been a number of attacks
on young anti-fascists, of which at least one was fatal. Lawyers
and relatives of the victims are concerned that these attacks
are considered as acts of hooliganism under Russian criminal law
and evidence pointing towards a more severe nature of the crime
has been ignored.
Amnesty International is concerned that ineffective
investigations by the police and prosecutor's office may be hampering
the ability of the public prosecutor's office to ensure convictions
for such attacks which match the gravity and nature of the crime.
Therefore the authorities should address the deficiencies in the
investigation and prosecution of racist attacks, including through
the development of clear guidelines and training for police, prosecutors
and judges who deal with such cases.
Amnesty International research shows that while
anyone, including ethnic Russians, can be a victim of human rights
violations at the hands of the police, ethnic minorities, in particular
from the North Caucasus and Central Asia, and migrant workers
can be particularly vulnerable to violations such as extortion,
arbitrary arrest, and torture and ill-treatment. Document checks
on members of the above mentioned ethnic groups, in order to establish
their legal status, as so-called "counter-terrorist"
measures or for the purposes of extortion by police are a daily
occurrence in Moscow and St Petersburg. Following from this, migrant
workers who are in the Russian Federation without adequate documents
are especially vulnerable by their uncertain legal status, and
in consequence suffer a lack of access to means of redress, or
can be threatened with deportation should they pursue a complaint.
In addition, Amnesty International has researched several cases
of deportation of migrants and refugees from the Russian Federation
despite them having had the right to remain in the country.
Russian registration rules continue to be used
as a means of discrimination against non-ethnic Russians. Registration
at the place of permanent residency may be denied to members of
certain ethnic groups, such as Roma or Chechen in an arbitrary
way. The lack of such registration has serious consequences for
the individuals' ability to enjoy his or her economic, social
and cultural rights, such as access to free medical care and education.
In addition, Amnesty International is concerned that recent new
laws on migrant workers have been accompanied by official statements
which sweepingly accused migrants and non-Russians of violations
of Russian laws and thereby may add to a widespread climate of
hostility towards migrants.
Amnesty International advocates that the UK
government should:
— urge the Russian authorities
to continue to speak out against racism and intolerance at a federal
and regional level;
— welcome the increase in prosecutions
and convictions for racially motivated attacks but, urge the authorities
to address any deficiencies in the investigation and prosecution
of racist attacks, including through the development of clear
guidelines and training for police, procurators and judges who
deal with such cases; and ensure that such attacks are not classed
as "hooliganism"; and
— urge the Russian authorities
to make tackling racism and intolerance a federal-level priority,
including among state officials, introducing a comprehensive government
Plan of Action.
Amnesty International (UK)
May 2007
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