On October 6, 2009, the Tverskoy District Court condemned the Memorial Human Rights Centre to 50,000 rubles (about 1,140 euros) and its Chairman, Mr. Oleg Orlov, to 20,000 rubles (about 450 euros) for "defamation" in a civil action initiated by the President of Chechnya, Mr. Ramazan Kadyrov. Mr. Kadyrov was suing Memorial and Mr. Orlov for 10 million rubles (approximately 230,000 euros) for alleged damages to his "honour and dignity".
The trial against Mr. Oleg Orlov started on September 25, 2009, and followed statements he made in the aftermath of the assassination in Grozny of human rights advocate Ms. Natalia Estemirova, a member of the Memorial Human Rights Centre, on July 15, 2009. Mr. Orlov had indeed declared that Mr. Kadyrov was responsible for the murder of Ms. Estemirova. The judge nonetheless condemned Mr. Orlov for having stated that Mr. Kadyrov was guilty of Ms. Estemirova’s assassination.
During the trial, for which the Observatory sent an international judicial observation mission, Mr. Oleg Orlov listed the evidence he collected on the responsibility of President Kadyrov in the insecurity faced by human rights defenders working on Chechnya, and on the overall control of President Kadyrov on the situation in the Republic in general.
President Ramzan Kadyrov’s lawyer had also filed criminal libel charges against Mr. Orlov, but on September 3, the Prosecutor’s office had announced that it would not bring these charges. President Ramzan Kadyrov’s lawyer appealed this decision. The ruling in appeal should be issued in the coming days.
The Observatory deplores the sentencing of the Memorial Human Rights Centre and Mr. Oleg Orlov, which takes place in a context where the harassment of human rights defenders has reached an unprecedented and worrying level, amid new statements and accusations voiced by President Kadyrov and Chechen Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyov.
This sentence occurred as we mark today the third anniversary of Ms. Anna Politkovskaia’s assassination. The Observatory notes that as of yet the criminal investigation has led to no concrete results.
The Observatory also recalls that since the beginning of the year, four human rights defenders covering human rights violations committed in Chechnya were killed: Mr. Stanislav Markelov, a prominent human rights lawyer, and Ms. Anastacia Baburova, freelance journalist, in Moscow; Ms. Natalia Estemirova; Mrs. Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband Mr. Alik (Umar) Dzhabrailov, respectively Head of the office and member of the NGO "Save the Generation" in Grozny.
The Observatory therefore reiterates its deepest concern regarding the safety of human rights defenders in the Russian Federation. The Observatory also calls upon the Russian authorities to ensure that an end be put against all acts of harassment or attacks against defenders in the Russian Federation, in conformity with relevant international and regional human rights instruments.
For further information, please contact:
· FIDH: Gaël Grilhot / Karine Appy: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
· OMCT: Delphine Reculeau : + 41 22 809 49 39