PACE expresses concern over pressure on human rights defenders in Russia and Southern Caucasus

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) urged its member states to enhance attention to the protection of human rights defenders. Among the countries where human rights defenders are under pressure, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were mentioned. The section, devoted to Russia, pays special attention to the situation in Northern Caucasus.

PACE declares unsatisfactory situation of human rights defenders in Europe

In the late evening of June 27, after hours of discussions, the PACE adopted the resolution "Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Europe", based on the report, prepared by Ms Mailis Reps, an Estonian MP. The document points out the unsatisfactory situation of human rights defenders in Europe, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from Strasbourg.

According to the resolution, in some countries of the Council of Europe, human rights defenders fall victim to serious crimes, ranging from murder to kidnapping and torture.

"In some member states of the Council of Europe, human rights defenders often fall victim to arbitrary judicial, administrative or tax persecution or libel campaigns, initiated by state or non-state bodies. Human rights defenders are being intimidated, subjected to threats, coercion and even murders," Mailis Reps stated.

She points out to spread of the practice of accusing human rights defenders of "hostility", "treason", "espionage", "extremism", and "aiding foreign countries for remunerations."

Among the countries where human rights defenders are under pressure, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were mentioned.

The resolution also expresses the concern over the violation in those countries of freedom of speech and assembly, selective persecution of journalists and young activists.

Azerbaijani representatives ambiguously assess criticism of PACE

In particular, as specific examples of pressure on human rights defenders, the report of Mailis Reps mentions criminal proceedings against Oktai Gyulalyev, the coordinator of the headquarters of the public organization "Kura", who defended the rights of people, affected by floods.

Besides, the report emphasizes that in March 2011, in Azerbaijan, the activities of the local branch of the Norwegian "House of Human Rights" Foundation were suspended under the pretext of re-registration in accordance with the requirements of new legislation. Meanwhile, according to the report, the country's Ministry of Justice refuses to sign the agreement with the Foundation, necessary for the registration of the foreign NGO in accordance with the legislation.

The report particularly points out to the demolition of the office of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), committed on August 11, 2011 under the pretext of urban development.

Samed Seidov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, speaking from the "European Democratic Group" faction, gave the report a positive assessment. According to him, "the author accurately points out that the problems of human rights defenders and NGOs are not problems of one country only, but they are common to all countries of Europe."

Therefore, according to Samed Seidov, "the Council of Europe should assert human rights in all countries and not use that for political purposes."

Rafael Guseinov, another Azerbaijani MP, criticized the report and called it "controversial". In particular, he disagreed with the statement that the Azerbaijani authorities do not support human rights defenders.

According to Rafael Guseinov, the government cooperates with human rights defenders. As far as the Norwegian "House of Human Rights" Foundation is concerned, the organization, according to the MP, should sign an agreement with the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the legislation.

PACE points out to number of murders of civil society activists and journalists in Northern Caucasus

In the course of the discussions, the most criticism has been applied to the situation in Russia, including in Northern Caucasus, where in recent years, a number of murders of civil society activists and journalists were committed.

In particular, the report mentions the murders of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", Stanislav Markelov, a well-known lawyer, engaged in human rights protection activities, and Natalia Estemirova, the head of the Chechen Branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

According to the report, violence against civil society activists does not stop in the region.

In particular, the murder of Khadjimurad Kamalov, the publisher of the "Chernovik" (Draft), the Dagestani leading weekly newspaper, which was committed in December 2011, gave rise to the greatest concern. Then, the report mentions that the beginning of 2012 was marked by the murders of lawyer Umar Sagidmagomedov and Rasul Kurbanov, a local resident, who was killed together with the lawyer.

Besides, the document reports on the fact that recently, the Amnesty International (AI) expressed its concern over the intimidation of staff members of the human rights NGO "Mashr".

The document also stresses that the pressure on human rights defenders in Russia distracts them from their primary function, since they have to protect their own rights.

As an example, the report mentions the case of Oleg Orlov, the ex-head of the HRC "Memorial", who was accused of slandering Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, since the human rights defender put upon him the responsibility for the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova. Let us remind you that only 2.5 years later, on January 20, 2012, Oleg Orlov was finally acquitted.

In the course of the discussions at the session of the PACE, Estonian MP Andres Herkel, Chairman of the PACE Monitoring Committee, urged the Council of Europe to pay special attention to the protection of civil society activists in Northern Caucasus.

According to him, failure to solve the murder of Natalia Estemirova and other activists creates in Northern Caucasus an atmosphere of impunity for crimes against human rights defenders and journalists.

Andres Herkel proposed to hold separate hearings in the PACE on the facts of murders of human rights defenders in Russia.

Swedish MP Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin shared her impressions from a recent trip to Northern Caucasus. She has expressed her particular concern over the fate of Мagomed Mutsolgov, the head of the Ingush human rights organization "Mashr", who investigates disappearances of people. The Swedish Mp said that because of his human rights activity, Magomed Mutsolgov had been repeatedly subjected to detentions, kidnappings and torture. Moreover, according to Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin, family members of the human rights defender constantly face threats.

The Swedish MP proposed to increase the protection of human rights defenders in the countries, where they are under pressure, to simplify for them the process of issuing visas to European countries, and to establish the position of PACE Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders.

Russian MP Alexander Sidyakin, in general, gave the report a positive assessment and stated that the Russian authorities support efforts of civil society for the protection of human rights.

Leonid Slutsky, another Russian MP, fending off criticism of the Estonian MP Andres Herkel, urged him to clarify, when Estonia would solve the problem with "aliens" an uncertain status of the Russian-speaking population.

PACE considers it necessary to establish position of Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders

Summarizing the results of the discussion, the PACE adopted the resolution with some amendments. The resolution contains a call to the governments of the member states of the Council of Europe to stop pressure on civil society activists, to guarantee the protection of the rights of people, engaged in the protection of others, and not to interpret legislation to justify pressure on human rights defenders.

The resolution also recognizes the need for establishment of the position of PACE Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders.