English  |  Français  |  Español
 
OMCT LogoOMCT logo
Make a donationRSSOMCT on FacebookOMCT on TwitterOMCT BlogHomeAbout OMCTActivitiesCATOMCT NetworkOMCT EuropeContactsMake a donation
  • Urgent campaigns
  • Assistance to victims
  • Human rights defenders
  • ESCR
  • Rights of the child
  • Violence against women
  • Monitoring protection mechanisms
 Save as PDF Print version
Human rights defenders / Urgent Interventions / Russian Federation / 2014 / December

Russian Federation: Attack of the office of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) and attacks against Mr. Igor Kalyapin

RUS 004 / 1214 / OBS 093
Attacks / Harassment
Russian Federation
December 19, 2014
 
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.
 
Description of the situation
 
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the attack of the office of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) in Grozny (Chechnya). The JMG is a renowned human rights organisation that has played a crucial role in revealing and documenting the continued violations of human rights committed in Chechnya.
 
According to the information received, on December 13 and 14, 2014, the office of the JMG in Grozny (Chechnya) was set ablaze. The workers were captured and searched by masked armed men.
 
The event on December14, was preceded by direct attacks against the Head of JMG and the Committee Against Torture, Mr. Igor Kalyapin . On December 10, 2014 the Head of the Chechen Republic, Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov accused Mr. Kalyapin on Instagram of supporting recent terrorist attacks in Chechnya. He notably suggested that Mr. Kalyapin received foreign funds from sources linked to Mr. Ahmad Umarov, the brother of the late Doku Umarov, the self-proclaimed Emir of the Caucasus Emirate and arch-rival of Mr. Kadyrov. Mr Kalyapin was subsequently attacked during his press conference in Moscow on December 11, 2014. On December 18, following statements of Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Investigative Committee opened an investigation against Mr. Kalyapin.
 
The Observatory considers this new series of harassment as a clear act of reprisals for the recent activities carried out by Mr. Kalyapin, the JMG and the Committee Against Torture.
 
On December 5, 2014, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Grozny where 26 people lost their lives, Mr. Kadyrov announced on his website and on social networks that the houses of all militants shall be burned, and their entire families expelled from Chechnya. In connection with these statements, on December 8, 2014, Mr. Kalyapin requested the Prosecutor General to start criminal proceedings against Mr. Kadyrov for violating the Criminal Code (“abuse of power”, Art. 286) and several articles of the Constitution (notably on the presumption of violence, freedom of movement, the right to private property and the right to housing).
The Observatory calls on the authorities of the Chechen Republic and more generally of the the Russian Federation to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Igor Kalyapin, members of the JMG and members of the Committee Against Torture, and to put an end to any verbal and physical attacks and acts of harassment against human rights defenders in Chechnya.
 
Actions requested:
 
Please write to the authorities of Russian Federation, urging them to:

i. Put an end to any act of harassment and verbal and physical attacks against the JMG, the Committee Against Torture, their members, including Mr. Igor Kalyapin, as well as all human rights defenders in Checnya and more generally the Russian Federation, and ensure in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance;

ii. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, especially:
-      its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,
-      and 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”;
 
iii. Comply with the provisions of the Declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the protection of human rights defenders and the promotion of their activities, and in particular With Article 2.i), in which the Committee calls on member States to “create an environment conducive to the work of human rights defenders, enabling individuals, groups and associations to freely carry out activities, on a legal basis, consistent with international standards, to promote and strive for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms without any restrictions other than those authorised by the European Convention on Human Rights;
 
iv. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.
 
Addresses:
 
• Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Ilinka Str, 23, Moscow, 103132, Moscow, Russian Federation. Faxes: + 7 495 606 5173 / 630 2408
•Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic, psprav@mail.ru
• Mr. Yurii Chaika, Prosecutor General, 15 A, Bolshaia Dmitrovka 125993 Moscow, Russian Federation. Fax: +7 495 692 17 25, Email: prgenproc@gov.ru
• Mr. Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of the Interior, Ulitsa Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation. Fax: + 7 495 637 49 25
• Mr. Alexander Konovalov, Minister of Justice, 14, ul. Zhitnaya, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation. Fax: +7 495 955 59 99. Electronic appeals via website: http://minjust.ru/electronic-appeal/email
• Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation. Fax: + 7 495 644 2203
• H.E. Mr. Alexey Borodavkin, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 734 40 44, E-mail: mission.russian@vtxnet.ch
• Ambassador Mr. Alexander Romanov, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 66, avenue de Fre, Brussels, 1180 Brussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 374 26 13. E-mail: amrusbel@skynet.be
• Ambassador Mr. Alexander Alekseev, Permanent Representation of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe, 75, allee de la Robertsau, 67000 Strasbourg, France. Fax: (+33) (0) 3 88 24 19 74. Email: representationpermderussie@wanadoo.fr
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the Russian Federation in your respective country.
 
***
 
Geneva-Paris, December 19, 2014
 
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
• Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
• Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

Properties

Date: December 19, 2014
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Russian Federation
Subjects: Human Rights Defenders, Threats, intimidation and harassment, Torture and violence

Share this

Tweet

Related articles

  • Russian Federation:  Attack on Igor Kalyapin, Head of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, by a mob of unidentified people
    Urgent Interventions / March 23, 2016
  • Russian Federation:  Members of the Joint Mobile Group and journalists attacked in Ingushetia
    Urgent Interventions / March 14, 2016

Recently Viewed Articles

OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail:
OMCT Europe
Rue Franklin 111
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail:
OMCT TUNIS
3, Rue Hassen Ibn Nooman
Cité Jardins | Tunis 1002
Tel: +216 71 791 114
Fax: +216 71 791 115
E-mail:
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss
  • Privacy Policy