Attack against Mr. Bakhrom Khamroev

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.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by the Civic Assistance Committee (CAC) of the attack against Mr. Bakhrom Khamroev, one of its member.

According to the information received, in the evening of January 14, 2007, Mr. Khamroev was attacked by a group of unknown individuals, near the subway station “Toul’skaya” in Moscow, as he was entering the station. The attackers caught him from behind, and kicked him in his face, head and kidneys. Mr. Khamroev was then left on the ground. Later, Mr. Khamroev was examined by a doctor who diagnosed a brain concussion, and noticed numerous contusions on his body.

Following this event, a criminal investigation was opened by the subway police, but the assailants have not been identified yet.

Mr. Khamroev fled from Uzbekistan in 1992, where he was a member of the opposition party “Birlik”, following a wave of repression against opposition parties. In 1995, he obtained the Russian nationality and settled in, and started to work in Moscow with the Civic Assistance Committee, which supports refugees. Mr. Khamroev would reportedly have been threatened and followed several times before his attack.

The Observatory strongly condemns this attack, which could be linked with Mr. Khamroev’s activities in favour of human rights in Russia, and which occurs in the context of an increasing climate of hostility against human rights defenders and a growth in xenophobia and racism, directed at foreigners and minorities.

Actions required:

Please write to the Russian authorities urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Bakhrom Khamroev;
2. Conduct a fair and impartial inquiry into those acts in order to identify their authors, bring them to justice and sanction them according to law;
3. Put an end to any act of harassment against all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;
4. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations 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”, article 12.2, which states 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;
5. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.

Addresses :

• Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes:+ 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru
• Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Ustinov, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, 103793 g. Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Prokuratura Rossiyskoy Federatsii, Generalnomu prokuroru Ustinovu V., Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 095 292 88 48
• Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya,103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3,Predsedatele Komissii po pravam cheloveka pri Prezidente, Pamfilove, Elle., Russian Federation, Fax:+70952064855
• Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Ministru vnutrennykh del, Fax: + 7 095 237 49 25
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 121200 Moskva, Ministru inostrannykh del, Fax:+ 7 095 244 2203
• 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 representations of the Russian Federation in your respective countries.

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Paris - Geneva, January 17, 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:
Email : Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel et fax FIDH : + 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel et fax OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29