Defend the Defenders Sponsorship : Say no to the judicial harassment against human rights defender Stanislav Dmitrievsky

OMCT Sponsorshipproject Defend the defenders

Portrait of StanislavDmitrievsky, Russian human rights defender judicially harassed

Inthe framework of its Sponsorship projet Defend the defenders, OMCT releases aportrait of Stanislav Dmitrievsky, prominent Russian human rightsdefender and Chairman of the Russian Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS).

Mr. Dmitrievsky, sponsored by Swiss Clown Dimitri, is once again facingjudicial harassment. As the court summons him forco-authoring the book “InternationalTribunal for Chechnya”[1],it is feared that Stanislav Dmitrievsky will have to face criminal charges ifthe publication is recognized as “extremist material”.

Take action and defend the rights ofStanislav Dmitrievsky. Write to the Russian authorities by using ourtemplate letter.

Stanislav Dmitrievsky is sponsoredby Swiss clown Dimitri in the framework of the OMCTProject Defend the defenders.

Who is Stanislav Dmitrievsky ?

Mr. Stanislav is a Russian humanrights activist, a writer and an editor. He has devoted his life to activelyfight against injustice in Russia and North Caucasus. Former Editor-in-chief ofthe newspaper Pravozaschita (“Human Rights Defense”), he has then beeninvolved in human rights non-profit organisations. He is also involved in thecivil society movement against the reportedly unlawful de-listing anddemolition of buildings of cultural significance in Russia.

He his currently the chairman of theRussian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), a Finland-based NGO. The mandate of the RCFS is to monitor the humanrights respect in North Caucasus and especially Chechnya. In 2004, theInternational Helsinki Federation has awarded The NGO for its work for Human rights.Regrettably, Mr. Dmitrievsky had to move the originally Russia-based RCFS headquartersto Finland when the Court of Justice of Nizhnii Novgorod shouted down the NGOin 2006.

Mr. Dmitrievsky is also a consultantfor the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance, directed by Ms. OksanaChelysheva. This Foundation has taken over the work of the RCFS after its closurein Russia, and is now one of the three organisations composing the reconstitutedRCFS in Finland. Their collaboration led to the publication of “International Tribunal for Chechnya”, the book currently subjected toinvestigation about its alleged “terrorist” content.

The case on “International Tribunal forChechnya”

Co-written by Stanislav Dmitrievsky, Oksana Chelysheva and Usam Baysaev, theprosecuted monograph “InternationalTribunal for Chechnya” was launched in 2009. The book is, as described bythe authors, “the analysis of the crimes committed in the course of the armedconflict in the Chechen Republic in the light of the norms of Internationalcriminal law, including case developed by the two international Tribunals”.

The monograph consolidates all available informationabout human rights violations committed in the Chechen conflict by allconflicting parties. It focuses on the issue of supposed responsibility of themilitary and executive leadership of the Russian Federation, includingPresident Vladimir Putin, and contains prospects for combating impunity of theperpetrators in the light of international criminal law, including the case lawof the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslaviaand Rwanda. It also aims at the establishment of a criminal court for thisconflict, on the grounds that the crimes perpetrated in Chechnya would fallwithin the scope of universal jurisdiction.

As soon as thebook was published, the authorities tried to ban the volume, by conductingcriminal inquiries which could not result in a criminal case due to lack ofevidence.

However, apetition was filed by the Prosecutor’s office of Dzerzhinsk under article 13 ofthe Federal Law on Countering Extremism and an administrative caseincriminating the book was opened in 2011, on the basis of experts’ conclusionsabout “extremism material”. Following the case opening, Mr. Dmitrievsky wasquestioned in April 2011, in a pre-investigation verification regarding thebook content. Such an administrative procedure does not fully comply with bothnational and international law.

Indeed apreliminary court hearing has been held on an unknown date, without notifyingthe authors of the book, which is contrary to the Code of administrative offencesof The Russian Federation. Indeed, the latter requires that “a judge, body, orofficial, which tries a case concerning an administrative offence, shall beentitled to regard the presence of the person, who is on trial in this case, whileconsidering it, as obligatory”[2]. Otherwise, if the person involved in the case is not present, “the casemay be only tried if there is evidence of the proper notification of thisperson about the place and time of consideration of his case »[3].Mr. Dmitrievsky did not receive such notification, and the preliminary hearingwas carried in his absence, in breach of the Russian Federation legislation.His lawyer then filed a request to hold a preliminary retrial, which was turneddown by the Judge, invoking that “Mr.Dmitrievsky’s procedural rights would be restored later in the course of thetrial”.

On November 28,2012, Stanislav Dmitrievsky received an official summons to appearbefore the court on December 6, 2012. The summons indicates that the hearing isbased on encountering extremist activities, as provided by the Russian law onextremist activity but do not specifies which parts of the book are consideredas “extremist material”. Nonetheless, the Code of administrative offencesstates that “a person who is on trial in connection with a case concerning anadministrative offence shall be entitled to familiarize themselves with all thematerials of the case”[4],which in this case includes the right to be aware of which parts of the volumeare incriminated. Moreover, Stanislav Dmitrievsky has never been able to see the experts’ conclusions on which the case isbased.

Moreover therights of Mr. Dmitrievsky are being seriously infringed regarding internationalstandards. Indeed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,ratified by the Russian Federation, guarantees that “in the determination ofany criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the followingminimum guarantees, in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail[…] of the nature and cause of the charge against him; (b) To have adequate time and facilities forthe preparation of his defense and to communicate with counsel of his ownchoosing”[5].

At last, if this administrative procedureends with the book being recognized as “extremist publication”, Mr. Dmitrievskycould face criminal charges as the article 15 of the Federal Law on combating extremist activityprovides that “citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens andstateless persons shall bear criminal, administrative and civil liability forthe carrying out of extremist activity under the procedure established inRussian Federation legislation”.

Stanislav Dmitrievsky,a human rights defender in constant danger

Dmitrievsky has continuouslysuffered threats from both authorities and unknown attackers for the past years aimed atsanctioning his human rights activities. . He has been subjected tovarious kinds of persecution, such as arbitrary arrests, criminal prosecution,home inspections and police intimidations. Last example of harassment occurredin November 2012, as unknown assailants attacked his apartment, his office andthe apartment of his daughter. Men wearing masks spilt orange paint overStanislav’s office and destroyed the security cameras of his apartment.

Nonetheless Stanislav Dmitrievskycourageously continues to stand up for the protection of human rights.

Chronology of previous acts of harassment

• September 2, 2005 : charges underarticle 282 of the Russian Criminal Code for “action aimed at inciting hatred or hostility and at disparagement ofeither an individual or a group of people according to their gender, racenationality, background religious beliefs, as well as belonging to any socialgroup that are committed publicly or though mass media outlets”
• September 22, 2005 : summons forquestioning in relation to alleged fiscal irregularities
• February 3, 2006 : Mr. Dmitrievsky was found guilty of “inciting interethnic hatred by using themass media”, and sentenced to 4 years of probation with 2 years suspendedsentence. The authorities closed down the RCFS.
• March 22, 2007 : threats of arrestfor Stanislav and Oksana Chelyheva. The Police was deterred by the announcementof their intention to call on international Human rights organisations. Thesame day, Dmitrievsky’s mother was visited by a policeman
• April 8, 2008 : Stanislav wasthreatened at his home by court officers
• April 27, 2011 : summons forquestioning in relation of his book, by the Anti-Extremism Center
• March 24, 2012: unknown assailantsattacked RCFS office with Molotov cocktails
• June 18, 2012: sentence of 15 daysof administrative detention after a protest
• July 23, 2012 : arrest forparticipating in a protest against the demolition of an historical building
• November 1, 2012 : unknownassailants attacked his apartment
• November 4, 2012 : unknownassailants attacked RCFS office
• November28, 2012 : Stanislav received an official summons to appear before the Court onDecember 6. A second hearing has been held on January 11th, 2013.

Take action : Defendthe rights of Stanislav Dmitrievsky

For more information, read the urgent appeal of the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders, a joint programme of OMCT and FIDH, and write to the authorities of Russian Federation : http://bit.ly/UoaDcG

For moreinformation about the OMCT Sponsorship project Defend the defenders, please visit our website: http://bit.ly/u8puEj

[1] “International Tribunal for Chechnya - Prospects ofBringing to Justice Individuals Suspected of War Crimes and Crimes AgainstHumanity During the Armed Conflict in the Chechen Republic”, July 2009

[2] Code of administrative offences, Article 25.1, 3)

[3] Code of administrative offences, Article 25.1, 2)

[4] Code of administrative offences, Article 25.1, 1)

[5] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 14.3, a)and b)