Russian Federation: Harassment of Memorial and Mrs. Elena Zhemkova

Open letter to the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation

Cc : Mr. Vladimir Putin,
President of the Russian Federation

Paris - Geneva, March 14, 2006
Re: Written warning to the Historical, Charitable, Human Rights Society Memorial

Mr. General Prosecutor,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, express their deep concern about acts of harassment against the International Historical, Charitable, Human Rights Society Memorial and Mrs. Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director of this organisation.

According to the information received, on February 26, 2006, the Prokuratura issued a written warning against Mrs. Elena Zhemkova for “intolerable violation of the law”, on the basis of article 1 of the “Law on Countering Extremist Activities”, which deals with the organisation and support of terrorist activities.

This warning followed the publication on Memorial website of an expertise made by Mr. Nafigulla Ashirov, chief mufti (Muslim clerk who is in charge of interpreting the Sharia and of issuing juridical views), of four leaflets issued by Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, a Muslim organisation forbidden in Russia.

This expertise was ordered by Mrs. Svetlana Gannushkina, board member of Memorial and the Civic Assistance Committee, in order to check the legal basis of dozens criminal cases opened since autumn 2004 against Russian citizens in Central Russia, Volga, Ural and Siberia regions, as well as in several ex-USSR countries, who were prosecuted for having kept, read or published Hizb-Ut-Tahrir materials.

The Prokuratura based its warning on the conclusions of a “socio-psychological” study, which, however, has never been published nor presented to Memorial, and the authors of which were never identified.

The Observatory is concerned about the fact that reference is made in the warning to violations of the law on extremist activities. According to the “Amendments to some Federal Laws of the Russian Federation”, signed by President Putin on January 17, 2006, an organisation may indeed be liquidated if it is convinced of “ extremist activity” - for which no clear definition has been provided in these texts (See Observatory explanatory note, January 20, 2006).

The Observatory fears that these new harassment may constitute an act of retaliation against Memorial’s activities in favour of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the defence of numerous Russian citizens prosecuted by the Prokuratura for their allegedly participation in Muslim “extremist activities”.

The Observatory strongly condemns this new measure aiming at further silencing civil society, and calls upon you, Mr. General Prosecutor, to cancel the written warning issued by the Prokuratura against Mrs. Elena Zhemkova and Memorial.

The Observatory considers that this warning violates the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”.

More generally, the Observatory urges Russian authorities to put an immediate end to any kind of harassment against Memorial, and all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, and to conform with the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human rights instruments binding the Russian Federation.

In the hope you will take these considerations and requests into account,

Yours sincerely,

Sidiki Kaba
President of FIDH

Eric Sottas
Director of OMCT