AI: IOC must emphasize human rights violations because of Olympics in Sochi

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should stop ignoring serious human rights violations associated with the preparation and holding of the Olympic Games in Sochi, says an open letter to the IOC President Thomas Bach from the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI).

"The IOC has failed to indicate to Russian authorities that the continued discrimination and harassment on their part are not consistent with the principles that make the essence of the Olympic Charter," said Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of the AI.

Human rights activists believe that Thomas Bach should raise with the Russian authorities the issue of harassment of environmentalists, as well as of the refusal to respect the right to the freedom of expression, association and assembly suspended in connection with the Olympics. In particular, the AI believes that ecologists Evgeny Vitishko and Igor Kharchenko were arrested as a result of an unfair trial. They are recognized to be prisoners of conscience by the AI.

Let us remind you that on the same with the opening of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the international organization "Front Line Defenders" launched its campaign aiming to draw the world's attention to the problem of persecuted human rights defenders. Their list includes rights defenders from the regions of the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD) of Russia and from the countries of Southern Caucasus.