Human Rights and Democracy Report 2013: Russia - Country of Concern update

Published 10 April 2014

Contents

1. Bolotnaya case
2. Rule of law
3. Sochi Winter Olympics
4. Minority rights
5. Freedom of expression
6. Civil society
7. North Caucasus

The human rights situation in Russia continued to be of serious concern in the first three months of 2014. Disability rights improved, but there were several negative developments affecting freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and media freedom.

Bolotnaya case

On 24 February, a Moscow court handed down sentences to eight defendants in the “Bolotnaya case” for their role in the protests in Bolotnaya Square on 6 May 2012 – the eve of the presidential inauguration. All were found guilty of participation in mass riots and use of force against a representative of authority, and seven received custodial sentences of between 2.5 and 4 years. Unsanctioned protests took place in central Moscow in support of the defendants on 21 and 24 February. Police detained over 600 people, including some opposition figures. In a press statement on 24 February, the UK government called on Russia to respect the principles of freedom of assembly and expression, and to ensure that the rule of law is applied in a non-discriminatory and proportionate way. On 25 March, Moscow City Court heard an appeal from Mikhail Kosenko, who was sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment for an unspecified period of time for his alleged role in the protests on 6 May 2012. The court upheld the conviction and declined a request from Kosenko’s lawyers for an additional psychiatric evaluation. Following the decision, Sergei Nikitin, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, said “in Mikhail Kosenko’s case, the courts are returning to an abhorrent practice that is redolent of the worst of Soviet-era tactics to crush dissent: the use of forced psychiatric treatment as a means to punish critics.”

Rule of law

In a positive development, Platon Lebedev, business partner of former Yukos oil company CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was released from prison on 24 January after a Supreme Court ruling to reduce his sentence by 11 months. However, we remain concerned about the processes used to convict him, and continue to call on the Russian authorities to strengthen the rule of law, tackle corruption and promote independence of the judiciary.

On 28 February 2014, a Moscow court placed opposition figure Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months, ordering him to stop using the internet and restricting his contacts with investigators, lawyers and close relatives. The court ruled that he had violated a travel ban placed on him as part of ongoing investigations into charges brought against him by Yves Rocher for embezzlement. Navalny denies the charges, which he claims are politically motivated.

Sochi Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games took place in Sochi between 7 February and 17 March. Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, noted in his closing ceremony speech that preparations for the Paralympics had “seen Sochi transformed into a barrier-free city and a blueprint for accessibility and inclusivity throughout Russia”. The British Embassy in Moscow and Russian disability NGO “Perspektiva” supported the visit of two British Paralympic athletes to Moscow on 11 March as part of the British Embassy’s ongoing work to promote disability rights in Russia. The Paralympians met school children at an “inclusive education” school and shared experiences with a group of Young Leaders with disabilities.

Human rights defenders highlighted several human rights violations linked to the Sochi Games. These included cases of forced evictions without fair compensation, threats and arrests of journalists and civil society activists, and exploitation of migrant workers at Olympic venues and other construction sites. On 12 February, the Krasnodar Appeals Court ruled to uphold a decision to enact a three-year custodial sentence against environmental activist Evgeny Vitishko, whose organisation published a report on the environmental damage caused by preparation for the Olympics. He was convicted for damaging a fence around the local governor’s house in 2012. Human Rights Watch said “the case against Vitishko has been politically motivated from the start.”

On 19 February, six members of the Pussy Riot punk group were attacked with whips by Cossacks as they attempted to perform a protest song in Sochi. Aleksandr Tkachev, the governor of the Krasnodar Region, expressed his regret over the incident and demanded a thorough investigation.

Russian police detained at least 14 gay rights activists protesting in Moscow and St. Petersburg on the opening day of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Prominent Italian gay rights campaigner, Vladimir Luxuria, was detained while watching the Winter Olympics in Sochi with a banner reading “Gay Is OK”. The Russian LGBT Sports Federation organised a five-day international sporting event, the Open Games, in Moscow from 26 February to 2 March, with the support of the British Embassy, US Embassy and other EU embassies in Moscow. Games organisers experienced difficulties in securing sporting venues and accommodation for athletes, which they claimed were a result of pressure from the authorities. Some events were disrupted by smoke bombs and bomb threats.

Minority rights

The Russian government published a decree on 13 February barring adoptions by “those in a same-sex union recognised as a marriage and registered in accordance with the law of states in which such marriage is allowed”. This follows a Russian law passed in July 2013 which banned the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples, and by unmarried and single people in countries where same-sex marriage is legal.

According to the Russian NGO “Sova Centre for Information and Analysis”, six people were killed and eight injured as a result of racist and xenophobic violence in Russia between 1 January and the end of February. Sova Center monitoring and analysis published on 31 March show a surge in ethnically motivated attacks in 2013, bringing to an end the decline in racist street violence between 2009 and 2012.

Freedom of expression

During the last three months, there have been several negative developments in Russia’s media landscape. On 5 February, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media expressed concern about the exclusion of the independent television station Dozhd by major cable and satellite operators. Dozhd owners claim that pressure was placed on the operators after it ran a controversial opinion poll about the blockade of Leningrad which was widely criticised. On 18 February, the Director General of Ekho Moskvi (Russia’s oldest and most prominent liberal radio station), Yuri Fedutinov, was unexpectedly replaced after 22 years at the station, a week after publishing a heavily criticised satirist blog. The station’s chief editor Alexei Venediktov described Fedutinov’s replacement as “a political decision aimed at changing editorial policy”. On 12 March, Galina Timchenko, editor-in-chief at independent Russian news website Lenta.ru, was sacked after more than ten years in the job. Two days earlier, the website received a warning from the Russian state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, for publishing “material of an extremist nature” after it published an interview with a member of the Ukrainian nationalist organisation, the “Right Sector.” Russia was ranked 141 out of 181 countries in Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index for 2014, and categorised as “a difficult situation”.

The EU made a statement at the OSCE on 27 March highlighting examples of Russia’s anti-extremism legislation being used to stifle domestic dissent, including through internet censorship and pressure on individuals. On 13 March, the blog of opposition figure Alexey Navalny was blocked for alleged “extremism” after he had called for friendly ties with Ukraine and compliance with international law. Three major independent news websites were blocked on the same day. Andrey Zubov of the Moscow State Institute for International Affairs was dismissed on 5 March for publishing an article critical of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Civil society

On 24 February, a law came into force to enhance powers to conduct snap inspections of NGOs. Grounds for unannounced inspections will include: failure to rectify earlier infringements; complaints by individuals and legal entities; information provided by government agencies, local authorities and the media about alleged extremism in the operation of NGOs; and information about violations of legislation by NGOs from federal and local authorities. We remain concerned about the increased pressure on civil society in Russia, and will continue to monitor the working environment for NGOs closely.

North Caucasus

Human rights abuses in the North Caucasus remain a major problem. Beatings, torture, harassment of Muslim citizens and collective punishment of the families of insurgents – institutionalised by legislation passed in 2013, allowing the seizure of the property of insurgents’ families – are of particular concern. Security incidents in the region continue to result in the injury and death of civilians.

This publication is part of the 2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report.