Continued arbitrary detention and judicial harassment against Mr. Philip Kostenko

RUS 001 / 0112 / OBS 001

Arbitrary detention / Judicialharassment

Russian Federation

January 3, 2012

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation forHuman Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the continued arbitrary detention and judicialharassment against Mr. Philip Kostenko, a member of the Anti-DiscriminationCentre (ADC) “Memorial”, Saint Petersburg, who was due to be released on January5, 2012 following his sentencing to 15 days of administrative detention (see backgroundinformation).

According to the information received, onJanuary 4, 2012 at 11.30 am, the Vasileostrovsky District Court will decide onnew measures of restraint against Mr. Kostenko in relation to new criminalproceedings started against him on “vandalism” charges under Article 214 p. 2 ofCriminal Code of Russia for allegedly damaging an All-Russia People's Frontposter during the parliamentary electoral campaign in autumn 2011 in St.Petersburg. The court may order his detention pending trial. In this case, hewill be transferred from the administrative detention centre where he is nowdetained to a criminal pre-trial detention centre.

The Observatory condemns the continuingjudicial harassment of Mr. Philip Kostenko since it seems to merely aim atsanctioning his human rights activities and expresses its deep concern aboutthe ongoing attempts to hinder the peaceful activities of human rights defenders.

The Observatory further recalls that it isthe third set of charges brought against Mr. Philip Kostenko since his arreston December 6, 2011 (see below).

Background information:

On December 6, 2011, Mr. Philip Kostenkowas arrested in Saint Petersburg on accusation of “disobeying the orders of thepolice officers” and of “refusal to put an end to his participation in therally” following his participation in a peaceful demonstration to denounce electoralirregularities and called for fair, free and independent electoral processesfollowing the elections results on December 4, 2011.

On December 7, he was sentenced to themaximum sentence of 15 days of administrative detention. On December 10, theappeal lodged by his lawyer was rejected. On December 12, his lawyer lodged acomplaint before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as both decisions(that of December 7 and December 10) were issued following serious proceduralirregularities.

As of issuing this Urgent Appeal, Mr.Kostenko is still detained in the special detention centre No. 6 of“Zakharievskaya” street, where he started a hunger strike on December 6, then joinedby another detainee, in order to protest against the arbitrary detention of demonstratorsand bad conditions of detention.

Moreover, on December 22, the 153rd courtdepartment sentenced Mr. Kostenko to an additional 15 days of detention for“disorderly conduct” under Article 20.1.1 of the Criminal Code after heallegedly swore before police officers on October 16, 2011. This decision was handedout a few minutes before Mr. Kostenko's expected release.

After the new court decision Mr. Kostenkoceased his hunger strike as all people arrested during the protests againstelectoral fraud in St Petersburg had then been released.

The Observatory also recalls that Mr.Philippe Kostenko had already been arrested along with Ms. Anna Udyarova,another member of the ADC “Memorial”, on November 26, 2011, as they werepicketing near the Embassy of Belarus to request the release of Mr. Ales Bialiatski,FIDH Vice-President and President of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” in Belarus,and, more generally, all political prisoners in the region. They were laterfinally released during the night after eight to nine hours of detentionfollowing mobilisation in their favour, both at the national and internationallevel. They were released under the condition that they appear before thepolice on November 28, 2011, at 11 am. At that time, they were informed by thepolice that they had been charged of two administrative offences, “illegal picketing” and “disobeying thepolice”, punishable by fines and administrative detention[1].

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of RussianFederation, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances thephysical and psychological integrity of Mr. Philip Kostenko as well as of allmembers of the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial” and all human rightsdefenders in the Russian Federation;

ii. Put an end to any act of harassment- including at the judicial level - against Mr. Philip Kostenko as well asagainst all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, and ensure in allcircumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activitieswithout any hindrance and fear of reprisals;

iii. Comply with the provisions of theUnited Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, especially:

- its Article 1, which states that“everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, topromote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

- its Article 5, which provides that“everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at thenational and international levels (a) to meet or assemble peacefully”;

- its Article 6 (b) and (c), whichstates that “everyone has the right, individually and in association withothers [...] as provided for in human rights and other applicable internationalinstruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, informationand knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms and [...] 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 appropriatemeans, to draw public attention to those matters”,

- and Article 12.2, which providesthat “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by thecompetent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adversediscrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of hisor her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the presentDeclaration”;

iv. Comply with the provisions of theDeclaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on theprotection of human rights defenders and the promotion of their activities, andin particular With Article 2.i), inwhich the Committee calls on member States to “create an environment conduciveto the work of human rights defenders, enabling individuals, groups andassociations to freely carry out activities, on a legal basis, consistent with internationalstandards, to promote and strive for the protection of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms without any restrictions other than those authorised by the European Conventionon Human Rights;

v. More generally, ensure in allcircumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with internationaland regional human rights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.

Addresses:

• Mr. Dmitri Medvedev, 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 diplomaticmission or embassy of the Russian Federation in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, January 3, 2012

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency 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

[1] See Observatory Urgent Appeal RUS005/1111/OBS 130, issued on November 28, 2011.