The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on May 4, 2012, Zentralnyi District Municipal Court of St. Petersburg sentenced Mr. Nikolai Alexeyev to a 5,000 rubles fine (approximately 127 Euros) under charges of “promoting homosexual propaganda” under the recently enacted bill providing administrative liability for public activities "promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism among minors". Mr. Alexeyev had been arrested on April 12, 2012 while picketing alone in front of Smolny institute holding a sign which affirmed that “homosexuality is not a perversion”. He was then shortly detained by the authorities before being released. Mr. Alexeyev will appeal the decision and intends to refer the case to the Russian Constitutional Court and to the European Court of Human Rights, if the sentence is upheld in appeal.
This sentencing is the first issued following the implementation of the “anti-gay” bill aimed at stifling the LGBT rights movement in St. Petersburg. The Observatory has already expressed concerned over this bill [1] , and recalls that such a text violates the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and in particular Article 6 (b) and (c) which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others [...] freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms"; "to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
The Observatory condemns the continuing judicial harassment of Mr. Alexeyev since it seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities and expresses its deep concern about the ongoing attempts to hinder the peaceful activities of human rights defenders.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Russian Federation, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Nikolai Alexeyev as well as of all LGBT rights defenders;
ii. Put an end to any act of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Nikolai Alexeyev as well as against all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, and ensure in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals;
iii. Repeal all discriminatory laws, such as the above-mentioned bill, implemented in St. Petersburg as well as all these enacted by other local parliaments in the Federation of Russia.
iv. 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 realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,
– its Article 5, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels (a) to meet or assemble peacefully”;
– its above-mentioned Article 6 (b) and (c),
– 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”;
v. 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;
vi. 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
· Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 495 637 49 25
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Fax:+ 7 495 644 2203
· Mr. Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigations Committee of the Russian Federation, Building 28, house 15, Naberezhnaya Akademika Tupoleva, Moscow, 105005, Russian Federation
* Ambassador Mr. Valery Loshchinin, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, E-mail : mission.russian@vtxnet.ch, Fax: +4122 734 40 44
* Ambassador Mr. Alexandra Romanov, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 66 avenue de Fré, 1180 Brussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 374 26 13. E-mail: amrusbel@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the Russian Federation in your respective country.
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Paris-Geneva, May 10, 2012
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 FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29