Earlier today, police rounded up dozens of activists in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, five minutes after they had started a peaceful demonstration. The activists were gathered in support of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), an internationally respected human rights organization that faces imminent closure. Among those being held at the Nizhny Novgorod police department are the chairpersons and staff members of several prominent Russian human rights organizations based in Nizhny Novgorod.
Furthermore, today the Nizhny Novgorod prosecutor’s office charged Stanislav Dmitrievsky, Managing Director of RCFS and editor of the human rights newsletter Pravozaschita, with the crime of “inciting hatred or enmity on the basis of ethnicity and religion” (part 2b of Article 282 of the Criminal Code). The allegations are based on two articles that called for an end to the war in Chechnya and criticized President Vladimir Putin’s policies in that region that were published in a newsletter called Pravozaschita (Human Rights Defense). Mr. Dmitrievsky, who is an editor of that paper, was threatened with prosecution for the same statements but under a different article of the Russian Criminal Code in January 2005.
“The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society has become the target of sustained official persecution for its criticism of the Russian government’s policies in Chechnya,” said Archi Pyati, Senior Associate at Human Rights First. “Human rights defenders have a right under Russian and international law to monitor and speak out about human rights conditions in Russia. The authorities should respect that right and discontinue any actions intended to intimidate or silence human rights defenders.”
Background
The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) is a registered non-governmental organization based in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, that monitors and reports on human rights in Chechnya. As a result of its work, the organization and its members have been targets of official persecution.
This week, Russian tax authorities withdrew the organization’s funds from its operational bank accounts. Without these funds, which were raised through grants from respected international foundations, the organization will be forced to close. Tax authorities demanded large sums in back taxes and fines based on new laws that require non-governmental organizations to pay heavy taxes on international donations. RCFS had appealed the tax authority’s decision to the appropriate commercial court on a number of grounds. The court has yet to rule on the RCFS request to hold payment of taxes and fines until a final decision in the appeal had been reached.
In January 2005, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) threatened Stanislav Dmitrievsky, Managing Director of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), with prosecution under a criminal extremism law. Though no charges were filed, the FSB raided the organization’s offices and interrogated its members.
In February, the Ministry of Justice and the tax authorities each began audits of the activities of the organization on administrative grounds. At one point, the organization was threatened with closure because it could not produce original documents for the Ministry of Justice in the possession of the tax authorities at the time.
In March, Oksana Chelysheva, deputy director of RCFS and the co-editor of Pravozaschita, was the target of a defamatory and threatening leafleting campaign. Though RCFS lodged a complaint with the local prosecutor’s office, no investigation was initiated.
In May, Stanislav Dmitrievsky suffered a concussion after being severely beaten at a train station. His attackers destroyed his passport and other documents. No investigation was initiated.
