Judicial harassment and media smear campaign against the NGO “Planet of Hopes” (Planeta Nadejd) and its director Ms. Nadejda Kutepova

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URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

RUS 001 / 0615 / OBS 058

Judicial harassment / Sentencing

RussianFederation

July 17,2015

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of theInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in the Russian Federation.

Descriptionof the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources aboutthe judicial harassment and media smear campaign against the NGO “Planet ofHopes” (Planeta Nadejd) and its director Ms. Nadejda Kutepova,Nuclear-Free Future award winner in 2011[1]. Since 2000,"Planet of Hopes" has been defending the rights of victims ofexposure to increased radiation and has been advocating for the review of thelegal regime put in place under the Law "On ClosedAdministrative-Territorial Units" (CATU)[2].Over the past 15 years, "Planet of Hopes" has provided legal aid to anumber of high-profile cases, including the ones related to victims of thenuclear accident "Mayak" in 1957, victims of nuclear contamination ofthe Techa river and the one of a six-year old girl who passed away from cancercaused by extreme levels of radiation. The radiation was passed on to hergenetically by her grandmother who took part in the clean-up works after the"Mayak" accident.

According to theinformation received, on May 26, 2015, the OzerskCity District Court (Chelyabinsk region) sentenced “Planet of Hopes” topay a 300,000 roubles fine (4,760 Euros) for refusing voluntary registration asa "foreign agent".

Starting from the next day following the court ruling, aseries of defamatory reports on national television groundlessly accused Ms.Kutepova of espionage and violated her right to privacy.

On May 27, 2015, the national TV channel Russia-1broadcasted a defamatory report about the trial. The 5:26 minutes report onprime time TV news programme disclosed the NGO’s funding sources and accusedMs. Kutepova of industrial espionage in the city of Ozersk, where the nuclearwaste reprocessing plant is located. The plant rendered Ozersk a "closedcity" according to the law on CATU.

On June 24and on July 1, 2015, another two defamatory reports were broadcast on the sameTV channel. Their content resembled the May 27 report, yet the last onedisclosed the address of Ms. Kutepova hereby infringing her right to privatelife. Following the defamatory reports, Ms. Kutepova filed a lawsuit.

The Observatoryrecalls that on April 15, 2015, the Ministry of Justice included the NGO"Planet of Hopes" into the "foreign agents" list. The NGOappealed the decision claiming the non-political nature of its activity and theviolation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Fundingfrom the US non-profit organization "National Endowment forDemocracy" (NED - United States) and Women in Europe for a Common Future(Netherlands) as well as Ms. Kutepova's interviews about violations of rightsof victims of nuclear contamination in the Chelyabinsk region were cited by theMinistry as an official reason for recognizing "Planet of Hopes" as a"foreign agent". Ms. Kutepova has sufficient reasons to believe thatshe is being harassed and intimidated for her human rights work[3].

The Observatory furthermore emphasises that this is not the first timethat "Planet of Hopes" is subject to harassment.

On May 20, 2014, Ms. Kutepova was summoned by a localpolice division, following instructions received from the Ozersk Prosecutor'sOffice. The prosecutor asked the local police division’s Economic Crimes Unitto verify Ms. Kutepova's criminal record. Moreover, he also asked to payspecial attention to the NGO’s office lease. According to the informationreceived, the office leaseholder was also summoned to appear at the policestation. Creating obstacles to civil society organisations for officiallyleasing an office is a common form of harassment in Russia.

The Observatory strongly denounces the judicial and media harassmenttargeting "Planet of Hopes" and its Head Ms. Nadejda Kutepova. Itexpresses its deepest concern regarding the restrictive legislative arsenalthat Russia continues to complement aiming to silence all forms of criticismagainst the regime as well as all forms of human rights activities in thecountry, in contradiction with international human rights standards[4].

Actionsrequested:

Please write to theauthorities of Russian Federation, urging them to:

i. Put an end to any act of harassment,including at the judicial level, against the Ozersk citysocio-environmental NGO “Planetof Hopes”, its head Ms. Nadejda Kutepova, as well as all environmental NGOsand human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, and ensure in allcircumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activitieswithout any hindrance;

ii. Publicly acknowledge andrecognise the legitimacy of the human rights work carried out by Ms. NadejdaKutepova, the NGO “Planet of Hopes“ and all human rights defenders and humanrights defenders in the country ;

iii. Repeal the law on“undesirable foreign organisations”, the law on “foregin agents“, the Law on Non-commercialOrganizations, the “Bloggers law” and other legislation contraveninginternational human rights standards and put an end to the clampdown on freedom of associationin the Russian Federation ;

iv. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration onHuman 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 withothers, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of humanrights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

- its Article 5,endowing everyone with the right to meet or assemble peacefully; to form, joinand participate in non-governmental organizations, associations and groups; andto communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations for thepurpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

- and Article 12.2,which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure theprotection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and inassociation with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de factoor de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as aconsequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in thepresent Declaration”;

v. Comply with the provisions ofthe Declaration 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), in which the Committee calls on member Statesto “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 andstrive for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms without anyrestrictions other than those authorized by the European Convention on HumanRights;

vi. More generally, ensure in all circumstancesthe respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional humanrights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.

Addresses:

· Mr. Vladimir Putin, Presidentof the Russian Federation, Ilinka Str, 23, Moscow, 103132, Moscow, RussianFederation. Faxes: + 7 495 606 5173 / 630 2408

· Mr. Yurii Ya. Chaika,Prosecutor General, 15 A, Bolshaia Dmitrovka 125993 Moscow, Russian Federation.Fax: +7 495 692 17 25, Email: prgenproc@gov.ru

· Mr. Vladimir Kolokoltsev,Minister of the Interior, Ulitsa Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, RussianFederation. Fax: + 7 495 637 49 25

· Mr. Alexander Konovalov,Minister of Justice, 14, ul. Zhitnaya, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation. Fax:+7 495 955 59 99. Electronic appeals via website: http://minjust.ru/electronic-appeal/email

· Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister ofForeign Affairs, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, RussianFederation. Fax: + 7 495 644 2203

· Ms. Ella Pamfilova, Ombudsman of theRussian Federation. E-mail: press-sl@ropnet.ru

· Mr. Mikhail Fedotov, Head ofthe Council under the President for development of civil society and humanrights. Fax: +7 495 606-48-55. E-mail: president-sovet@mail.ru,fedotov_MA@gov.ru

· H.E. Mr. Alexey Borodavkin,Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nationsin Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22734 40 44, E-mail: mission.russian@vtxnet.ch

· Ambassador Mr. AlexanderRomanov, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 66, avenue de Fre,Brussels, 1180 Brussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 374 26 13. E-mail:amrusbel@skynet.be

· Ambassador Mr. AlexanderAlekseev, Permanent Representation of the Russian Federation to the Council ofEurope, 75, allee de la Robertsau, 67000 Strasbourg, France. Fax: (+33) (0) 388 24 19 74. Email: representationpermderussie@wanadoo.fr

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the Russian Federation inyour respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, July 17, 2015

Kindly inform us of any actionundertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Teland fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Teland fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Since 1998 the Nuclear-Free Future Award honoursindividuals and organisations worldwide who contribute to creating a world freeof nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The Award is a project of the Franz MollFoundation for the Coming Generations and gives out awards in three categories:Resistance, Education and Solutions. For more information, seehttp://www.nuclear-free-future.com/en/.

[2] Article 1 of the aforementionedlaw puts in place a special legal regime in areas of production of massdestruction weapons, radioactive materials, military and other equipment.Residents of these so-called "closed cities" not only facerestrictions on their freedom of movement, entrepreneurship, ownership, use anddisposal of land, natural resources and real estate, but are also often exposedto dangerous levels of radioactivity.

[3] Themain demand of the organisation "Planeta Nadejd" is to ensure justiceand adequate compensation to the victims of nuclear contamination; to declarethe river Techa and its surroundings as a zone dangerously contaminated bynuclear waste; to evacuate residents living close to the Techa river and itssurroundings; to officially acknowledge the causal relationship betweendiseases caused by increased levels of radiation and patients' places ofresidence.

[4] See the Observatory's Press Release, May 20, 2015. @font-face { font-family: "Arial";}@font-face { font-family: "Tahoma";}@font-face { font-family: "OpenSymbol";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 14.15pt; text-indent: -14.15pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }strong { font-weight: normal; }span.FootnoteCharacters { vertical-align: super; }span.Rimandonotaapidipagina2 { vertical-align: super; }span.Ancredenotedebasdepage { vertical-align: super; }span.Marquedannotation1 { }span.CorpsdetexteCar { font-family: Tahoma; }span.NotedebasdepageCar { }span.PieddepageCar { }span.En-tteCar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }