Russian Federation - Country monitoring - Commissioner for Human Rights

Statement

Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the State Duma to refrain from adopting legislation which violates the rights of NGOs and civil society activists

07/12/2020 Strasbourg

“I have been following closely recent discussions concerning a number of new bills related to NGOs and, in particular, I note that Russian civil society has expressed criticism of these bills. Based on all the information received, I call on the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian...

Letter

The Commissioner calls on the Russian investigating authorities to take urgent action in the case of Mr Salman Tepsurkayev, abducted in September and subjected to torture in Chechnya

19/11/2020 Strasbourg

Today the Commissioner published a letter she had addressed to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Mr Alexander Bastrykin, concerning the case of Mr Salman Tepsurkayev, a 19-year old chat moderator on the 1ADAT news channel on Telegram who was abducted,...

Statement

The Russian authorities should end continuous judicial harassment of human rights defenders

30/09/2020 Strasbourg

Yesterday’s judgment against Yuri Dmitriev, a Russian historian and human rights defender sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment in a high-security prison having been acquitted earlier on the same charges, raises serious doubts as to the credibility of his prosecution. Mr Dmitriev is widely known in...

Statement

The authorities of the Russian Federation must ensure the safety of Salman Tepsurkaev abducted and subjected to torture in Chechnya

10/09/2020 Strasbourg

The abduction of Salman Tepsurkaev in Krasnodar Krai in the Russian Federation on September 5 is a serious human rights violation that cannot go unpunished. I call on the Russian authorities to take immediate action to ensure his safety. Mr Tepsurkaev (19) is a chat moderator on 1ADAT, a news...

Statement

Commissioner calls for prompt investigations into Alexei Navalny’s case

26/08/2020 Strasbourg

"Alexei Navalny’s condition remains serious a week after he fell into a coma. I express my sympathy to him, his family and friends, and I hope he will fully recover soon", said today Commissioner Mijatović. "Mr Navalny is a prominent Russian anti-corruption activist, blogger and public figure....

Statement

Commissioner calls on Russian authorities to drop charges against human rights defender Semyen Simonov

20/07/2020 Strasbourg

“Today’s indictment of Semyen Simonov, a Russian human rights defender in Sochi, for not complying with the legislation on non-commercial organisations is alarming and will have a massive chilling effect on the entire human rights community in Russia”, said today Commissioner Mijatović. “Mr...

Statement

The Russian authorities should remedy the long-standing problem of undue restrictions to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and press freedom

06/07/2020 Strasbourg

“The detention of 19 people, including journalists, in Moscow and Pskov on Friday and the verdict against journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva today reflect once again the urgency to overhaul legislation governing freedom of assembly and of expression, as well as anti-terrorism and anti-extremism...

Statement

Commissioner calls on Russian authorities to overhaul legislation and practice governing freedom of assembly and of expression

23/06/2020 Strasbourg

“The arrest of more than 100 people in Moscow and St Petersburg yesterday is yet another illustration of the intolerance of the Russian authorities towards people expressing their opinions peacefully. I stressed on several occasions that the sanitary restrictions introduced to fight the COVID-19...

Statement

Commissioner calls on the Russian authorities to investigate assaults against journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Marina Dubrovina in Chechnya

07/02/2020 Strasbourg

The physical assaults against journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Marina Dubrovina in the entrance hall of a hotel in Grozny yesterday evening is the latest of a series of worrying attacks on human rights defenders and critics in the Chechen Republic. The climate of hostility against...

Statement

Commissioner calls on the State Duma of the Russian Federation to refrain from adopting the new bill on foreign agents

21/11/2019 Strasbourg

I call on the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to refrain from adopting the draft law currently under examination that would significantly extend the definition and scope of a “foreign agent”. Such a law would allow the authorities to designate as a “foreign agent” any...