Deep concern over assault against human rights defender from Dagestan

Mr. Magomedali Magomedovich Magomedov
President of the Republic of Dagestan

Mr. Andrei Ivanovich Nazarov
Prosecutor of Dagestan

Re: Deep concern over assault against human rights defender from Dagestan

Dear Sirs,

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), wishes to draw your urgent attention on the severe assault suffered by Ms. Sapiyat Magomedova, a lawyer at the firm “Omarov A.S. and Partners”[1], in the Interior Department (GOVD) of Khasavyurt city, Republic of Dagestan.

In the afternoon of June 17, 2010, Ms. Sapiyat Magomedova was beaten by four GOVD special militia agents (OMON) in the Khasavyurt police department, and lost consciousness as a result.

Ms. Magomedova had come to the GOVD premises with all the documentation required to visit a client, Ms. Malika Evtomirovoya, who had been violently arrested and detained earlier the same day. Ms. Evtomirovoya had lodged a complaint in the past against a police officer for abuses sustained by the latter, and had been indirectly warned by the investigator in charge of the case not to be too vocal about that case otherwise she would be arrested. The arrest intervened just after the investigation was handed out to another investigator, upon request of Ms. Magomedova.

At the GOVD, Investigator Zakir Stambuloff rejected Ms. Magomedova's request to visit her client, called the police patrol, and ordered the agents to “throw her out of here”. As Ms. Magomedova insisted to have access to her client, agents started to severely beat her, until militia chief Shamil Kerimovich Temigereev shouted to “throw that bitch”. Ms. Magomedova was then taken to the office of an investigator, and lost consciousness on three occasions there. A man reportedly advised police officers to draft a report stating that it was Ms. Magomedova who had started to attack them.

The Observatory was also informed that an ambulance was reportedly prevented from accessing Ms. Magomedova until she was dragged in a state of unconsciousness to the security checkpoint at the entrance of the building. The ambulance then managed to take her to the Khasavyurt city hospital.

In the assault, Ms. Magomedova's gold chain was reportedly stolen, her mobile phone broken, and her lawyer's card torn. She only regained consciousness in the evening at the hospital, and a forensic medical expert refused to examine her.

On June 19, 2010, Ms. Magomedova was transferred to the Republic's clinical hospital in Makhachkala.

The Observatory strongly condemns the assault against Ms. Magomedova, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning her human rights activities, and fears for her physical and psychological integrity. The Observatory also recalls that Ms. Magomedova has filed four complaints with the European Court of Human Rights against investigators of the Prosecutor's Office of Khasavyurt, accused of abuses against individuals. She has also been subjected to various acts of judicial harassment over the past years.

Dear Sirs, considering the persistence of police brutality and impunity, as well as the repeated attacks against human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, and recalling that according to OP 2(iv.) of the Council of Europe Declaration on Human Rights Defenders[2], member-States shall “take effective measures to prevent attacks on or harassment of human rights defenders” and that Article 12.2 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, provides that the State shall “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”, the Observatory urges you to:

• Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Magomedova as well as of all human rights defenders in Dagestan, and in the Russian Federation as a whole;
• Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Magomedova as well as against all human rights defenders in Dagestan, and in the Russian Federation as a whole;
• Order an immediate, thorough, effective and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil, competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
• Conform in all circumstances with the provisions of the United Nations and the Council of Europe Declarations on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the 2nd Conference on the Human Dimension of the Cooperation and Security Conference in Europe (CSCE) (1990), as well as international and regional human rights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation;

The Observatory kindly urges you to act expeditiously in the framework of your respective mandates with regards to this situation and we express our sincere hope that you will be able to act expeditiously with regards to this situation.

Yours sincerely, Souhayr BELHASSEN
President of FIDH

Eric SOTTAS
Secretary General of OMCT

[1] “Omarov A.S. and Partners” law firm takes up human rights cases, in particular those related to civil and political rights, including abduction, torture and extrajudicial killings.

[2] Declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for enhanced protection of human rights defenders, adopted on February 6, 2008.