FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

Filed under

Chechnya

See all posts on posterous with this tag »
 
May 3 / 3:03am

"Past Cannot Be Forgotten"

by Kerkko Paananen

The Arkadia International Bookshop in Helsinki will host a talk with journalist and human rights defender Oksana Chelysheva and Chechen singer Liza Umarova on the situation in Chechnya on Saturday 5 May 2012 at 4 pm. The discussion will be in English and Russian.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Aldy   Chechnya   Helsinki   Human Rights   Russia   War Crimes  
 
May 2 / 12:01pm

Angels of Grozny Can Stay

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcomd3_ehizc

The Gatayevs in Helsinki. (Photo: Vladimir Telegin.)

The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has granted asylum to the Chechen couple, Malik Gatayev and Khadizhat Gatayeva, and three of their children. The couple fled from persecution in Chechnya and Lithuania, and applied for asylum in Finland in September 2009. The Gatayevs ran orphanages for Chechen children in the Chechen capital, Grozny, and in Lithuania's second-largest city, Kaunas.

Migri initially rejected the Gatayevs' asylum application in March 2010, and the couple was detained pending deportation. However, the Helsinki Administrative Court ruled in May 2010 that Lithuania was not a safe country of return. In March 2012, Finland's Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court ruling, obliging Migri to reconsider the case. Finally, on 19 April 2012, Migri granted the family asylum.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Asylum   Chechnya   Finland   Human Rights   Lithuania   Refugees  
 
Feb 19 / 12:28pm

Musa: Survivor of Chechen Meat Grinder

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcomma_mlvfd

The Finnish webzine, Fifi, ran an interview with Musa, a Chechen refugee living in Finland. Below, an abridged translation of Jussi Förbom’s original article:

Finnish director Mervi Junkkonen’s documentary film, After Life - Four Stories of Torture, is an excruciating, maddening, and beautiful plea in defence of torture victims. One of the film’s main characters is Musa, who escaped the Chechen meat grinder. He wishes that the viewers of the film appreciate the importance of freedom and understand that the conflict in Chechnya is not over. One day, he hopes to be able to tell his son about his experiences under torture.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Asylum   Chechnya   Human Rights   Refugees   Russia   Torture  
 
Nov 1 / 4:41pm

Russians Need To Respect Themselves

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcomcc_chrvt

Teemu Matinpuro, executive director of the Finnish Peace Committee, and Kerkko Paananen, information secretary of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum (FINROSFORUM), gave an interview to Lyudmila Mamina, editor-in-chief of Kasparov.Ru, about the Finnish edition of Novaya Gazeta, the attitude of Finnish society to Anna Politkovskaya, the war in Chechnya, and the current political situation in Russia. Below, an edited translation of the interview.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Amnesty   Chechnya   FINROSFORUM   Finland   Kadyrov   Medvedev   Novaya Gazeta   Politkovskaya   Putin   Rauhanpuolustajat   Russia  
 
May 9 / 4:05pm

День Победы

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcomuk_hjwjm

В понедельник 9 мая городской суд в финском городе Вантаа полностью оправдал финского предпринимателя и правозащитника, члена правления Финско-Российского Гражданского Форума Микаэля Стуршё и чеченского беженца Дени Берката, против которых было выдвинуто обвинение в организации нелегальной иммиграции. Судили их за то, что они спасали чеченских беженцев. Они помогли нескольким семьям перебраться в Финляндию.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Chechnya   FINROSFORUM   Finland   Refugees   Russia   Россия   Финляндия   Чечня  
 
May 6 / 4:22pm

"I do not have the moral right to be afraid"

by Kerkko Paananen

On 6 May 2011, Mary Robinson, president of the Mary Robinson Foundation, presented the annual Front Line Award to the Joint Mobile Group of the Russian Federation for their outstanding work investigating torture and disappearances in Chechnya despite the serious risks. The Award was presented to Igor Kalyapin, founder and President of the Joint Mobile Group, at the Award ceremony in Dublin's City Hall.

Presenting the Award, Mrs Robinson said: "The work of the Joint Mobile Group is an inspirational example of how committed individuals, despite all the pressures that are brought to bear on them, can hold the line in defence of justice, truth and the rule of law. It is the denial of access to justice that enables tyrants to prevail. This is why the work of human rights defenders like the Joint Mobile Group is so important."


http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/15048
Filed under  //  Abduction   Chechnya   Disappearance   Front Line   Human Rights   Russia   Torture  
 
Apr 11 / 2:12pm

Committee Against Torture Wins Prize

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpwwwpytkamne_iogra

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has awarded its 2011 Human Rights Prize to Russia's Committee Against Torture in recognition of the organisation’s role in assisting victims of serious human rights abuses. The prize honours "outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe."

A panel, which included leading figures from the world of human rights, recommended the Committee Against Torture from among ten individuals and organisations nominated for the prize, praising its "effective independent investigations" alongside official state investigations, especially in Russia's war-torn Chechnya.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Chechnya   Human Rights   NGO   Nizhny Novgorod   PACE   Torture  
 
Apr 5 / 8:39pm

Путинский пастор разжигает межнациональную рознь

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcom9p_uuruf

Финский уполномоченный по делам меньшинств Эва Биоде (Eva Biaudet) обратилась к полиции с просьбой инициировать следствие по поводу высказываний финского лютеранского пастора Юхи Молари (Juha Molari). Уполномоченный попросила полицию выяснить, содержатся ли в статьях, опубликованных Молари в своем блоге, признаки разжигания межнациональной розни.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Chechnya   Church   Ingushetia   Juha Molari   Refugees   Russia. Finland   SAFKA   Xenophobia  
 
Oct 25 / 2:52pm

Elena Maglevannaya granted asylum

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpphotos3hi5c_fcbst

Finnish authorities have granted asylum to the Russian journalist and human rights defender, Elena Maglevannaya. She fled from Russia in May 2009 after receiving threats for her press reports about the abuse and torture of Chechens in Russian prisons. In a trial that was seen as heavily tilted in favour of the prosecution, Elena was convicted of libel because of her articles. While waiting for a decision on her asylum application in Finland, she continued her investigations into prison conditions in Russia.

In July 2010, speaking in an interview with YLE News, Elena expressed confidence in the European justice system: "Here in Finland, there is rule of law. I have often been in a situation where law has no meaning or it does not exist at all," she said. Earlier, several leading human rights defenders started a petition to the Finnish immigration authorities on Elena's behalf. Many Russian journalists and human rights defenders who have highlighted human rights abuses in the North Caucasus have either been killed or imprisoned.

Oksana Chelysheva, board member of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, noted that the Finnish Immigration Service, once again, showed its impartiality in its conclusion that Elena's asylum application was warranted and that she was indeed in need of international protection. Elena found a lot of support in Finland, and today's decision gives joy to everyone, Oksana wrote. She recalled that Elena started her human rights work alone in Volgograd. Thanks to her efforts, the case of Zubair Zubairayev received international attention.

Read on for an interview with Elena...

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //  Asylum   Chechnya   Finland   Human Rights   Journalism   Maglevannaya   Russia  
 
Oct 21 / 12:57am

Natalia Estemirova Documentation Center Established

by Kerkko Paananen
Media_httpfilesmyoper_yiuut

During a conference on Strengthening Human Rights in Russia organized by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in cooperation with Amnesty International Norway in Oslo on 19-22 September 2010, a resolution on establishing the Natalia Estemirova Documentation Center was adopted by a group of nine leading Russian and international human rights organizations:

Centre of International Protection (France and Russia), Memorial Human Rights Center (Russia), Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (Netherlands and Russia), Interregional Committee Against Torture (Russia), Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (Finland), Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Civil Rights Defenders, and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

The Natalia Estemirova Documentation Center will store and systematize information on violations of human rights, humanitarian law, and international criminal law relevant to the on-going human rights crisis in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation.

The Center’s objective is to collect material relevant to a process of transitional justice in order to put an end to the climate of impunity in the region and help preserve an accurate historical memory. The Documentation Center will cooperate with relevant organizations, institutions, and individuals seeking information about the North Caucasus crisis.

The name was chosen in honor of our close colleague and friend, Natalia Estemirova of Memorial Human Rights Center, who was abducted in Chechnya and killed on 15 July 2009. By establishing the Natalia Estemirova Documentation Center in Oslo, the signatory organizations aspire to honor her commitment and to protect and promote her legacy.

http://www.nhc.no/php/?module=article&view=1011

Filed under  //  Chechnya   Human Rights   Russia   War Crimes