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.
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on October 28, 2007, as Ms. Annemarie Gielen was on her way to Moscow, along with Mr. Bart Staes, a Belgian Green member of the European Parliament, for a working visit by the European Green Party that aimed at encountering political opponents and human right defenders and to which she was invited as an NGO observer, they were stopped at the passport control at Domodedovo airport, although they had valid visas.
Whereas Mr. Staes was allowed to pass after one hour and a half, Ms. Gielen was kept for one night at the airport, in a locked room. The border officers told her that her presence in Russia was not desirable and that she would not be allowed back in the country for a period of five years. Ms. Gielen was not told the reasons for this expulsion, the only answer given to her when she asked about the motives of this measure was to ask her to "think well".
Ms. Gielen, who is ten weeks pregnant, was put on the first flight back to Brussels, which happened to be after 24 hours. All of this time she was detained in a locked room with guards. As of issuing this urgent appeal, she had not received any official communication regarding her expulsion or her five years interdiction to enter the Russian Federation.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern regarding the arbitrary arrest and expulsion of Ms. Gielen, which are further evidence of the determination of the Russian authorities to hinder the activities of human rights defenders.
The Observatory recalls that as a participating State of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Russian Federation 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.
The Observatory, further recalling that the Russian Federation was elected to the United Nations 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 aiming at preventing foreign human rights defenders to come to the Russian Federation in order to promote human rights and to put an end to all acts of harassment against human rights defenders in the country.
Actions requested:
The Observatory urges the authorities of the Russian Federation to:
i.Put an immediate end to any kind of hindrance on Ms. Annemarie Gielen’s freedom of movement, especially by authorising her to have access to the Russian Federation territory, and guarantee in all circumstances that she be able to carry out her human rights activities without any hindrance;
ii.Put an end to all acts of harassment against Ms. Annemarie Gielen as well as against all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;
iii.Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December, 9, 1998, in particular with Article 1, which provides 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", Article 6.b, which provides 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", as well as with Article 12.2 which reads 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";
iv.Comply with the provisions of the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the 2nd Conference on the Human Dimension of the Cooperation and Security Conference in Europe (CSCE) (1990), and uphold in all circumstances the principles and provisions enshrined in the international and regional human rights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation and which, in particular, guarantee freedoms of association, demonstration, expression and opinion, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Addresses:
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes:+ 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru;
Prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod, Fax: + 7 831 2 61 85 03
Nizhegorodskiy district police office, Fax: +7 831 2 34 02 02
Governor of the region, Vasily Shantsev, + 7 831 2 39 08 19
Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Ustinov, 103793 g. Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 095 292 88 48;
Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax:+70952064855;
Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 095 237 49 25;
Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +4122 734 40 44;
Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 31-33 boulevard du Régent, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 513 76 49.
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the Russian Federation in your respective country.
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Paris-Geneva, November 5, 2007
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line: E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80 Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
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RUS 008 / 1107 / OBS 135
Arbitrary arrest / Obstacle to freedom of movement
Russian Federation
November 5, 2007