Russian Federation: Press Release: Call for investigations into constant harassment - including killings - against members of Memorial working on and in the Caucasus

Since the beginning of September 2009 in Makhachkala (Daghestan), members of a group called "the relatives of the policemen killed in Daghestan" have been threatening human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers with punishment and violence.

Such climate is representative of the deteriorating situation for human rights defenders in the Caucasus over the past months, and more particularly since July.

On July 15, 2009 indeed, Ms. Natalia Estemirova[1] was kidnapped and subsequently shot dead. Since July 10, 2009, Mr. Akhmed Guissaev, collaborator with the Memorial office in Grozny and close collaborator of Ms. Estemirova, has been tracked. Other members of the Memorial Centre in Grozny have also been victim of constant surveillance. The Center was later compelled to suspend its activities (see Urgent Appeal RUS 006 / 0909 / OBS 139).

Further, on September 3, Mr. Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Center, and Mr. Alexander Cherkasov, researcher on armed conflict for Memorial, were subject to what appeared to be tax inspections, but were later informed that no tax inspectorate employees had paid visits to their residences on that day.

Such visits are all the more worrying as they occurred a few days before the beginning of the trial[2] for defamation against Mr. Oleg Orlov, on the basis of a complaint lodged by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov against Mr. Oleg Orlov, for “slander” (Article 129 of the Criminal Code)[3].

The Observatory firmly condemns all these acts of harassment and intimidation which are representative of the ongoing and intensifying climate of repression and impunity faced by human rights defenders in the Russian Federation.

The Observatory calls upon the authorities of the Russian Federation to order an immediate, thorough, effective, impartial and independent investigation into all the above-mentioned events, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent, impartial and independent tribunal and apply to them the penalties provided by the law.

The Observatory further announces that it will observe the hearing against Mr. Orlov on September 25 in Moscow and report on any irregularity that may occur, and calls upon the European Commission Delegation in Moscow as well as European Union Member-States embassies to send observers to the hearing, on the basis of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.

For further information, please contact:

• FIDH: Gaël Grilhot, + 33 1 43 55 25 18
• OMCT: Eric Sottas + 41 22 809 49 39

[1] Head of the office of the Memorial branch in Grozny.

[2] The trial started on September 10 in Moscow.

[3] The complaint was lodged following Mr. Oleg Orlov's statement published on Memorial's website on July 15, 2009 in which he accused President Kadyrov of being involved in Ms. Natalia Estemirova's killing.