RUS 002 / 0418/ OBS 037

Physicalassault /

Harassment

RussianFederation

April 3,2018

The Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in the Republic of Dagestan, Russian Federation.

Descriptionof the situation:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the physical assault of Mr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev, Headof the Human Rights Center (HRC) Memorial office in Dagestan.

According to the informationreceived, on March 28, 2018, unidentified person(s), physically assaulted Mr.Sirazhutdin Datsiyev as he was leaving his house in Makhachkala to go to work.As he walked out, he noticed a car with dark tinted windows and heard footstepsapproaching from behind, before being hit on the head and falling on theground.

Although Mr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyevwas not able to identify the attacker(s), a witness to the incident laterinformed him that a man had jumped out of the car and hit him on the head,before running back to the car and leaving.

Mr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev was lateradmitted to the neurosurgical department of the Republican Clinical Hospital,where he was treated for moderate injuries and diagnosed with brain concussion,chest bruise and multiple injuries. Police was alerted of the incidentimmediately thereafter and is reportedly investigating it.

The Observatory expresses its utmostconcerns following the assault of Mr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev as this is thelatest in a string of attacks targeting HRC Memorial and its members, as aretaliation for their work in North Caucasus and aimed at intimidating andsilencing them.

Indeed, these events come at a timewhen HRC Memorial staff in Dagestan have received threats of reprisals fortheir work via SMS and phone calls from unidentified individuals. In addition,on January 22, 2018 the car used by HRC Memorial's staff in Dagestan was set onfire.

The Observatory recalls that theHead of HRC Memorial in the neighbouring Republic of Chechnya, Mr. Oyub Titiev, was detained on January 9,2018, put in pre-trial detention and subsequently falsely charged withpossession of drugs[1].The defender and his family were threatened by law enforcement authorities inan attempt to extract a confession. His lawyers have also faced acts ofintimidation and harassment. Additionally, on January 17, 2018, HRC Memorialpremises in Nazran, Ingushetia were the target of an arson attack.

The Observatory urges the Russianauthorities to ensure the physical and psychological integrity and security ofMr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev, Mr. Oyub Titiev, all HRC Memorial members and theirrelatives and to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial and transparentinvestigation into the physical assault of Mr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev as well asinto the arson attack of HRC Memorial premises in Ingushetiaand car in Dagestan, in order to identify all those responsible, bring thembefore an independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law.

The Observatory further urges theRussian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Oyub Titievand to put an end to all acts of harassment against him, all HRC Memorialmembers and human rights defenders in the North Caucasus. In the meantime, theObservatory urges Russian authorities to uphold his right to a fair trial.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to the authorities of Russia, urgingthem to:

i. Take all necessarymeasures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security ofMr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev, Mr. Oyub Titiev, HRC Memorial members and all humanrights defender in the Russian Federation;

ii. Conduct an immediate,thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the physical assault ofMr. Sirazhutdin Datsiyev as well as into the arson attack ofHRC Memorial premises in Ingushetia and car inDagestan in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before anindependent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law

iii.Release Mr. Oyub Titiev immediately and unconditionally, as his detention isarbitrary since it merely aims at sanctioning his peaceful and legitimate human rightsactivities;

iv. Put an end to all actsof harassment, including at the judicial level, against all HRC Memorialmembers as well as all human rights defenders in Russia, including by puttingan end to all forms of surveillance of their activities by local enforcementofficials, and ensure in all circumstances thatthey are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance orfear of reprisals;

v. Publicly recognise at the level of the President of the RussianFederation the crucial role of humanrights defenders as pillars of democracy and watchdogs of the rule oflaw and publicly condemn all attacks against human rights defenders,particularly in the Chechen Republic;

vi.Comply with all the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular with Articles 1, 12.1 and 12.2;

vii.Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedomsin accordance with international human rights standards and internationalinstruments ratified by the Russian Federation.

Addresses:

· Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of theRussian Federation, Fax: + 7 495 606 3602; + 7 495 625 3581

· Mr. Dimitri Medvedev, Prime Ministerof the Russian Federation, Twitter: @MedvedevRussia

· Mr. Sergueï Lavrov, Minister ofForeign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 495 644 2203

· Permanent Mission of the RussianFederation to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 734 40 44,E-mail: mission.russian@vtxnet.ch

· Embassy of the Russian Federation inBrussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 374 26 13. E-mail: amrusbel@skynet.be

· Permanent Representation of theRussian Federation to the Council of Europe, France. Fax: (+33) (0) 3 88 24 1974. Email: russia.coe@orange.fr

Please alsowrite to the diplomatic representations of Russia in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva,April 3, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting thecode of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European UnionHuman Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel andfax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT: +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 80949 29

[1] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal RUS001 / 0118 / OBS 004.3 published on March 20, 2018. @font-face { font-family: "Arial";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "OpenSymbol";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }h1 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0cm; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: normal; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 16.95pt; text-indent: -16.95pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0cm 0cm 7pt; line-height: 120%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }strong { font-weight: normal; }span.Titre1Car { }span.FootnoteCharacters { vertical-align: super; }span.WW-FootnoteReference2 { vertical-align: super; }span.CorpsdetexteCar { }span.PieddepageCar { }span.En-tteCar { }span.NotedebasdepageCar { }p.Corpsdetexte23, li.Corpsdetexte23, div.Corpsdetexte23 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }