Amnesty International: Russian Federation Carries Out Systematic Repression on Eve of Elections
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 28, 2007
12:01 PM
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CONTACT: Amnesty International
Laura Spann,
202-544-0200 x232
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Russian Federation Carries Out Systematic Repression on Eve of Elections, Says Amnesty International
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WASHINGTON, DC - November 28 - Amnesty International is gravely concerned about the Russian authorities' systematic disregard for basic human rights in the run-up to parliamentary elections in the country scheduled for December 2, 2007.
Over the last few months, the organization has seen numerous attempts by the authorities of the Russian Federation to interfere with the right to freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression of political opposition, human rights activists and journalists.
Garry Kasparov, an opposition leader, was arrested on November 24 and sentenced to five days administrative detention for allegedly leading an unsanctioned demonstration and resisting police arrest. Several witnesses told Amnesty International that they overheard conversations among the police indicating that it they planned in advance of the march to detain Kasparov. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate release.
"From the unprovoked arrest and imprisonment of opposition leader Kasparov, to the beating of journalists and human rights defenders and the excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, the Russian authorities have created a climate in which it is difficult, if not outright impossible, to express dissenting views and report abuses," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia program director at Amnesty International.
On November 24 and 25, police detained scores of people before, during and after "marches of dissent" in several Russian cities, beating and kicking them in the process. In St. Petersburg, Russian human rights defender Ella Poliakova, head of the Soldiers' Mothers Committee of St. Petersburg, was detained along with several other people on November 25 for 12 hours after she had attended a press conference of the opposition party Yabloko.
Amnesty International is concerned about numerous violations of the right to a fair trial of those detained during the marches. Court hearings have failed to adhere to international standards of fair trial, and some judges refuse to listen to evidence from the accused. Several detainees, including Kasparov, were prevented from seeing their lawyers before and after the court hearings. One person was also reportedly beaten by the police who then denied him necessary medical aid when he appeared before a Moscow court.
The organization is also concerned about the attack and resulting death of Farid Babaev, a prominent political activist involved in human rights work. Babaev was the first candidate on Yabloko's party list for the Russian State Duma elections in the southern Russian Republic of Dagestan. On the evening of November 22, he was shot and fatally wounded outside his home in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala by unidentified perpetrators. Two days later, he died in the hospital. Relatives and human rights activists have cited Babaev's outspoken political views as being a motivation for his murder, while the authorities reportedly deny the murder had any political motivation.
Amnesty International repeats its concerns regarding the abduction and ill-treatment of Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre Memorial, as well as three journalists from the Russian TV station REN TV. The four men were taken from a hotel in Nazran, Republic of Ingushetia, during the nights of November 23 and 24 by armed masked men in camouflage. They were driven outside of town and abandoned in a field, after being beaten and threatened that they would be shot.
Amnesty International released a briefing on human rights defenders in the North Caucasus, urging the Russian authorities to respect the lawful work of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists and to refrain from any unlawful attempts to interfere with their work.
To see the briefing, Russian Federation: Human Rights Defenders at risk in the North Caucasus, visit http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur460532007.
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