Withdrawal of the charges faced by Ms. Anastasia Denisova

May 20, 2010

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), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.

New Information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the withdrawal of the charges faced by Ms. Anastasia Denisova, President of ETHnICS, a Krasnodar-based youth group promoting tolerance, who is also a member of the Krasnodar section of the Memorial Human Rights Centre as well as of the coordinating council of the International youth Human Rights movement.

According to the information received, on May 11, 2010, Ms. Anastasia Denisova's lawyer received a letter from the Prosecutor's Office to inform them that the criminal case against her client was closed on April 19 in the absence of a body of a crime in her actions. It also stated that an official apology on behalf of the Prosecutor of Zapadnyi (Western) District of Krasnodar had been sent to Ms. Denisova. To date, she has not received it yet.

The Observatory welcomes the withdrawal of the charges against Ms. Denisova and thanks all the persons, institutions and organisations who intervened in her favour. The Observatory now calls upon the authorities to return Ms. Denisova all of the equipment confiscated during the investigation in January 2010 (see Background information).

Background information:

Over the past months, Ms. Anastasia Denisova was subjected to repeated acts of harassment.

At the end of August 2009, Ms. Denisova and one of her colleagues, photo-correspondent Yuriy Ivaschenko, were stopped at the border on their way from Abkhasia, and interrogated during seven hours without any reason being provided.

On September 30, 2009, an article published in a Krasnodar administration newspaper accused Ms. Anastasia Denisova of inciting national strife and hate through her writings on xenophobia in the region and her activities in support of Georgian-Russian dialogue.

On October 4, 2009, Ms. Anastasia Denisova was prevented from attending the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) of the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw, Poland. At Krasnodar airport, she was stopped after the customs by the Krasnodar airport Security Services Officer Boris Dombrovski, who stated several times that he was following “orders”. She refused to hand in her laptop arguing that it was fragile. Ms. Denisova was denied boarding with her laptop in cabin, and could not take part in the OSCE HDIM.

On October 12, 2009 at 4.30 pm, agents belonging to the Investigation and Intervention Unit on Tax Offence pertaining to the Ministry of Internal Affairs raided the ETHnICS centre in Krasnodar and confiscated three central units, alleging they had received information according to which pirate softwares were being used in the office. The agents presented a warrant bearing an incorrect address and asked Ms. Anastasia Denisova to come with them for interrogation. She refused to follow them, claiming that the reasons for the interrogation had not been clearly stated.

On January 11, 2010, Ms. Anastasia Denisova's apartment was searched during more than three hours by police officers from the Krasnodar Crimes Department Messrs. Armen Gasparjan, Pavel Ignatenko and Vasily Linkov, who were allegedly looking for a pirate software as part of an investigation on “terrorism”. The three police officers, who bore a warrant Mrs. Denisova was not given any copy, informed Ms. Denisova that a criminal case had been opened against her during the New Year holiday, and seized her laptop, external hard drive and flash memory.

On January 12, Ms. Denisova was summoned for interrogation to the Krasnodar Police department of internal affairs, were she went accompanied by lawyer Ms. Marina Dubrovina. During the interrogation, Ms. Denisova refused to answer the questions, claiming Article 51 of the Russian Constitution, which provides that “no one shall be obliged to give evidence against himself or herself”. Ms. Denisova was suspected of "illegal use of copyright objects or neighbouring rights as well as appropriation, storage, transportation of pirated copies or phonorecords for Sale purposes on a large scale with use of official position". If convicted, she faced a six-years prison term and a fine up to 500,000 RUB (approximately 11,700 Euros).

Actions requested:

Please write to the Russian authorities and ask them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Anastasia Denisova, all members of ETHnICS as well as all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;
2. Immediately and unconditionally return the confiscated equipment to Ms. Anastasia Denisova;
3. Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Anastasia Denisova, ETHnICS, its members as well as all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;
4. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and its article 12.2 which 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 the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
5. Comply with the provisions of 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 with OP 2(iv.) of the Council of Europe Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, according to which member-States shall “take effective measures to prevent attacks on or harassment of human rights defenders, ensure independent and effective investigation of such acts and to hold those responsible accountable through administrative measures and/or criminal proceedings”;
6. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.

Addresses:

• Mr. Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian Federation, Faxes:+ 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408;
• Mr. Yuriy Chaika, General Public Prosecutor of Russian Federation, 125993, Moscow, GSP-3, 15a B. Dimitrovka str. Russian Federation, Fax: +7 495 692-96-00 / +7 495 692 17 25;
• Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax:+70952064855
• Mr. Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights, Fax: +7 495 207 3969 / +7 495 207-53-37
• Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 095 237 49 25
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Fax:+ 7 095 244 2203
• Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 734 40 44
• Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 31-33 boulevard du Régent, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 513 76 49.

Please also write to diplomatic representations of the Russian Federation in your respective countries.

Paris-Geneva, May 20, 2010

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

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80
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