The Observatory has been informed about the opening of criminal proceedings against Oleg Orlov,
co-chair of Memorial Human Rights Center (HRC “Memorial”), a member
organisation of FIDH, as well as the raid on his and at least seven
members of the dissolved NGO International Memorial’s homes or family’s
homes, namely: Yan Rachinsky, head of the management of International Memorial; Nikita Petrov, deputy chair of the organisation; and employees Alexandra Polivanova, Alexandre Guryanov, Galina Jordanskaya, Alena Kozlova and Irina Ostrovskaya.
On March 21, 2023, early in the morning, officials of the
Investigative Committee and the Main Directorate for Countering
Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Center “E”) raided the
homes of Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, Nikita Petrov, Alexandre Guryanov,
Galina Jordanskaya, Alena Kozlova, Irina Ostrovskaya, as well as
Alexandra Polivanova’s mother’s home in Moscow. Lawyers were not allowed
to enter the premises. During the searches, computers, phones, flash
drives, documents and items with the logo of Memorial, including a
calendar and a face mask, were confiscated. The searches were based on
an investigator’s warrant but not a court order, due to alleged
"time-sensitivity” of the case.
After the search, the eight human rights defenders were taken to the
Investigative Committee of the Tverskoy District, Moscow, for
questioning. On the same day, all of them, except Oleg Orlov, were
released pending investigation under witness status, and were given an
order of non-disclosure of details of the case. Mr Orlov was released
pending investigation under suspect status and had to sign a statement
of intention not to leave the country.
According to the search warrants, on March 3, 2023, Russian
authorities initiated a criminal case for “exoneration of Nazism”
against “unidentified employees” of HRC Memorial and International
Memorial under Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian
Federation. The case is based on the fact that International Memorial’s
database on victims of political repression, which includes over 3
million records, contains the names of three men who allegedly
collaborated with the Nazi authorities during the Second World War.
Information on the men was based on so-called "memory books" listing the
victims of political repressions. Regional state authorities, including
the regional offices of the Federal Security Services (FSB), were
involved in the publication of these books. The Observatory notes that
data verification related to the alleged crimes these three individuals
would have committed cannot be conducted as public access to archived
criminal case files is restricted in Russia.
On March 21, the Investigative Committee opened criminal proceedings
against Oleg Orlov on charges of "public actions aimed at discrediting
the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation" (Article 280.3(1)
of the Criminal Code) for writing an article titled “Russia: they
wanted fascism, they got it” (“Russie : ils voulaient le fascisme, ils
l’ont eu”) published on the French blogging platform Le Club de
Mediapart on November 13, 2022. At the time of publication of this
Urgent Appeal, the investigation was ongoing.
The Observatory recalls that on December 28, 2021, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled
to liquidate International Memorial for allegedly violating the
“Foreign Agent” Law. The Presidium of the Supreme Court dismissed
International Memorial’s appeal on February 28, 2022, and a supervisory
appeal to the Presidium of the Supreme Court was likewise dismissed.
HRC Memorial was likewise liquidated by the authorities following a
series of appeals and despite a ruling
by the European Court of Human Rights requiring Russia to halt
liquidation proceedings with respect to both organizations pursuant to
Rule 39.
The Observatory further recalls that this is not the first time Oleg
Orlov is targeted for his legitimate human rights work and that he has
already been found guilty and been charged twice under administrative
law for “discrediting the Russian Armed forces” (Article 20.3.3 of the
Russian Code of Administrative Offences) for his anti-war pickets.
The Observatory strongly condemns the raid on the homes and the
judicial harassment of Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, Nikita Petrov,
Alexandre Guryanov, Galina Jordanskaya, Alena Kozlova, Irina Ostrovskaya
and Alexandra Polivanova, as well as the ongoing brutal crackdown on
human rights defenders and civil society organisations in Russia, which
further escalated after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Observatory urges the authorities to put an end to all acts of
harassment, including at the judicial and administrative levels, against
Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, Nikita Petrov, Alexandre Gurianov, Galina
Jordanskaya, Alena Kozlova, Irina Ostrovskaya, Alexandra Polivanova and
all human rights defenders in the country.
The Observatory further urges the authorities to guarantee, in all
circumstances, the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and
association, as enshrined in international human right law, and
particularly in Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
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