Amnesty International demands to overturn decision to ban Memorial | News from Germany about Russia

The international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) demanded to immediately cancel the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the liquidation of International Memorial. “By closing the organization, the Russian authorities are insulting the memory of the millions of victims of the Gulag,” said Marie Struthers, AI director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on Tuesday, December 28.

“International Mmemorial” is a respected human rights organization that worked tirelessly to document the atrocities and political repression committed during the rule of Joseph Stalin and other Soviet leaders, she said.

“A clear attack on civil society”

“The authorities’ use of the ‘foreign agents’ law to dissolve the organization is a clear attack on civil society aimed at erasing the national memory of state repression. The decision to close Memorial International should be immediately reversed,” Struthers said on the website AI.

Earlier on the same day, the RF Supreme Court ruled to ban the Memorial International Historical and Educational Society. It was decided to liquidate International Memorial and its regional divisions. Memorial intends to appeal the decision of the court, if necessary, appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

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The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Litvinenko poisoning case
On September 21, 2021, the ECHR recognized Russia as responsible for the poisoning of ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in Great Britain in 2006, committed with the use of a rare radioactive isotope polonium-210. There is no doubt that this murder was committed by Russian citizens Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, a court in Strasbourg said after considering a complaint from Marina Litvinenko’s widow.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Estemirova’s murder case
On August 31, 2021, the ECHR ruled that the Russian authorities did not provide an effective investigation into the murder of the famous journalist and human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, but found no evidence of the state’s involvement in this crime. At the same time, the court ruled that Russia should pay the applicant, Estemirova’s sister, 20,000 euros “as compensation for non-pecuniary damage”.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Release of Navalny from jail
On February 17, 2021, the ECHR demanded that the Russian authorities immediately release opposition politician Alexei Navalny from jail. As noted in a letter sent by the court to Navalny’s lawyer, the chamber of seven judges, when making a decision, was guided by Rule 39 of the ECHR Rules, which “empowers the court to direct the parties to the proceedings on mandatory interim measures.”

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Case “Georgia v. Russia”
On January 21, 2021, the ECHR partially satisfied Georgia’s claim against the Russian Federation regarding the war in South Ossetia. He did not recognize the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation on Georgian territory during the hostilities on August 8-12, 2008. Therefore, the Russian Federation cannot be recognized as having violated the Convention on Human Rights during this period. At the same time, he satisfied many of Georgia’s claims, pointing out the “effective control” of the Russian Federation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
The Magnitsky case
On August 27, 2019, the ECHR ruled on the case of Sergei Magnitsky, auditor of the Hermitage Capital investment fund, obliging the Russian Federation to pay his mother and widow compensation in the amount of 34 thousand euros. Magnitsky claimed that he had caught a number of officials of embezzling more than $ 230 million from the budget. In 2008, he was arrested on charges of tax evasion. In November 2009, he died in a SIZO hospital in Moscow.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
The case of the detention of Navalny
On November 15, 2018, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the detention of Alexei Navalny during the protests of the Russian opposition in 2012-2014 was “politically motivated.” Compensation for moral damage to Navalny – 50 thousand euros, plus costs and expenses – almost 15 thousand more.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
The case of the members of the punk group Pussy Riot
On July 17, 2018, the ECHR ruled to recover compensation from Russia to the members of the punk group Pussy Riot in the criminal case of the action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were awarded 16 thousand euros, and Ekaterina Samutsevich – 5 thousand euros. When considering this criminal case, it is noted in the verdict of the ECHR, four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
“Anti-gay law”
In June 2017, the ECHR recognized as discriminatory the law adopted in the Russian Federation in 2013 banning propaganda among minors of same-sex sexual relations. The court indicated that it violated two articles of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights. The precondition for the decision was the appeal to the ECHR of three Russians – activists of the LGBT movement. The court ordered to pay them compensation in the amount of 50 thousand euros.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Growth in the number of complaints from Russia to the ECHR
Almost every second complaint to Strasbourg is from Russia. Moreover, about 90% of them are recognized by the European court as not subject to consideration. In addition to incorrectly executed documents, the ECHR is often denied because the applicants apply directly to the international court, bypassing the national one.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
No freedom, no security
According to the head of the Agora human rights group, Pavel Chikov, in 2017, the number of complaints to the ECHR from protesters increased especially. “Over the past year, there were at least 400 of them – the largest number for the entire observation period,” the expert says.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Billion in payments under the decisions of the ECHR
Compensations, which the ECHR awards based on the results of the consideration of cases, are received by the applicants from the state. In the budget of Russia for 2017, 600 million rubles were initially allocated for payments on decisions of international courts (most of them were on the verdicts of the ECHR). But this money ran out by the fall, and the state increased the annual amount to 1 billion.

The loudest decisions of the ECHR in Russia since 2017
Geography of violations
Russia is the absolute leader in terms of the number of judgments issued by the court (until 2012, Turkey was noticeably ahead of it). Over the past ten years, Russians are twice as likely to win trials against the country’s authorities.
Author: Elena Barysheva