Russian authorities should immediately drop criminal libel charges against Oleg Orlov, the prominent activist who heads Memorial Human Rights Center, Human Rights Watch said today. The charges stem from Orlov’s statement that Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya, was responsible for the murder of Natalia Estemirova, Memorial’s leading researcher in Chechnya.
Link to HRW

Tags: Chechnya, Russia

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Human rights activists in Russia and the North Caucasus face increasing violence and intimidation three years after the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
In a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Amnesty International urged him to take genuine steps to stop the attacks and for his administration to demonstrate a commitment to bring the perpetrators of [...]

Tags: Chechnya, Dagestan, Russia

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Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian forces committed numerous violations of the laws of war in the conflict in August 2008 over South Ossetia and its aftermath, causing many civilian deaths and injuries and widespread destruction of civilian property according to a Human Rights Watch report released today.
The 200-page report, “Up in Flames: Humanitarian Law Violations [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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Russian authorities should immediately investigate the killing of Stanislav Markelov, a prominent Russian human rights lawyer, and bring his killers to justice. Markelov was shot dead on the afternoon of January 19, 2009, on Prechistenka Street in central Moscow, and a newspaper intern with him was fatally wounded.
“We are appalled and deeply saddened by Markelov’s [...]

Tags: Russia

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The Austrian government should act swiftly to bring to justice those responsible for the killing of a Chechen man who had alleged he had been tortured by Ramzan Kadyrov, who is now the Chechen president, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Memorial Human Rights Centre said today.
According to news reports, assailants shot and killed [...]

Tags: Austria, Chechnya, Russia

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Following the recent call by Amnesty for Spain to halt the extradition of Murad Gasayev to Russia, Human Rights Watch have also called on Spain to immediately halt plans to extradite the Chechen to Russia, where he will be at risk of torture.
To secure the extradition of the man, Murad Ajmedovich Gasayev, Russian authorities have [...]

Tags: Russia, Spain

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As the Spanish authorities prepare to extradite Murad Gasayev to the Russian Federation Amnesty International called for these proceedings to be halted immediately as he would be at great risk of torture if returned.
“We hold the Spanish authorities responsible for the wellbeing of Murad Gasayev and urge them not to send him to a country [...]

Tags: Russia, Spain

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The Russian government should immediately investigate a police raid on Memorial, a prominent human rights organization. Human Rights Watch also called on the government to ensure the speedy and safe return of all seized equipment and documents.
In the morning of December 4, 2008, seven masked men, armed with batons, broke into the office of the [...]

Tags: Russia

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Russian authorities should take immediate steps to stop South Ossetian militias from attacking ethnic Georgians in Akhalgori district in South Ossetia. Russia should also ensure that local residents remain able to move freely to and from the rest of Georgia.
“South Ossetian militias are running wild attacking ethnic Georgians in Akhalgori,” said Tanya Lokshina, deputy director [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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One hundred days after the August conflict, over 20,000 ethnic Georgians are still unable to return to their homes in South Ossetia, while many of those, on both sides of the conflict, who have gone back have found their homes pillaged or destroyed.
“A new twilight zone has been created along the de facto border between [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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