International Federation
for Human Rights

On February 11, 2008, as Ms. Natacha Butler, a news presenter, Mr. Eric Josset, a cameraman, and Mr. Dmitry Saltykovskiy, a Russian citizen who was their interpreter, had started taking images inside the office of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance, four people entered the office. One of them introduced himself as a member of the Migration Service of the Russian Federation. He demanded that the foreign journalists show their documents, migration cards and accreditation papers. Although both journalists had visas with Nizhny Novgorod as a main point of their destination and that their migration cards were in order, the chief started accusing them of breaching the visa regime all the same, as “they did not have a special accreditation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to work as journalists”.

Then the Migration officers demanded that Ms. Butler, Mr. Josset and Mr. Saltykovskiy “accompany them” to their main headquarters in Rozhdestvenskaya St.

The journalists of France 24 had made a number of appointments with high-ranking officials to be interviewed, including the governor of Nizhny Novgorod.

At first, the chief of the Migration service denied that the journalists had been taken to the headquarters of the Migration Service by their staff. Then he changed his explanation while being interviewed by the REN TV, claiming that it was a regular check-in and that he did not know where the journalists were. As of issuing this press release, the journalists would reportedly remain at the headquarters of the Migration Service.

The Observatory reiterates its deepest concern regarding these acts of harassment against these foreign journalists, who were reporting on the human rights situation in Nizhny Novgorod, which are further evidence of the determination of the Russian authorities to hinder the activities of human rights defenders themselves, and fears that they might also be targeting the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance, as the Foundation has faced repeated acts of harassment of all kinds in the past few months.

The Observatory, recalling that the Russian Federation was elected to the Human Rights Council in June 2006 for three years and is committed, in this regard, to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”, urges the Russian authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment against the above-mentioned journalists, the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance as well as all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation.

The Observatory also recalls that as a participating State of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Russian Federation acknowledges that “the [1998] UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders [... places] a responsibility [...] on states to adopt and implement adequate legislation and administrative procedures that would provide for a conducive environment for human rights defenders to promote and strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and recognises “the need for particular attention, support and protection for human rights defenders by the OSCE, its Institutions and field operations, as well as by participating States” [1].

Accordingly, the Observatory calls upon the Russian authorities to conform in any circumstances with international and regional human rights standards and instruments ratified by the Federation, including with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular 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”, as well as its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or 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”.

For further information, please contact:

FIDH : Gael Grilhot, + 00 33 1 43 55 25 18