Students Detained at Moscow University
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.
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has released a new report, Persona Non Grata: The CIS Ban System for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. The report shows that over the past several years, countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have developed a common system reminiscent of the Schengen system in Europe, where individuals who are denied entry to one of the six member states automatically are denied entry to the others.
Russian journalist Elena Maglevannaya fled from Russia and is now seeking refuge in Finland. Her asylum case is still pending and she now lives in a refugee camp. She runs a website, receiving dozens of emails every day with new cases for her investigations into prison conditions in Russia. For her reports, Maglevannaya was accused of libel. The court ignored all the evidence and testimony from the defense and found Maglevannaya guilty. The court ordered her to publish a refutation and pay a penalty of approximately USD 6,500 -- more money than she had ever seen in her life. The case occurred in 2009 after Maglevannaya published her investigation on the inhumane treatment in Russian prisons of detainees arrested during the conflict in Chechnya. The investigation paints a terrifying picture of torture, beatings and humiliation of Chechens in Russian prisons. “The statement itself is a very interesting document. They actually wrote it on my behalf; they only wanted my signature. Of course, I refused to sign and publish the refutation. How could I? Everything I had reported was true!” Maglevannaya exclaims.
Dear Finnish migration authorities,
We urge you to grant asylum to the Russian human rights defender and journalist Elena Maglevannaya. She arrived in Finland in late May 2009 and has stayed there since. Maglevannaya decided to apply for asylum in Finland after she was persecuted by the Russian authorities for her articles about the torture of Chechen inmates in Russian prisons. Moreover, Maglevannaya received several death threats from Russian ultranationalist organisations closely linked to the authorities.
[There has been] a wave of unsolved attacks and official harassment against journalists, human rights activists and opposition politicians [in Russia]. Rarely, if ever, is anyone held responsible. One editor was beaten in front of his home, and the assailants seized only copies of his articles and other material for the next day’s issue, not his wallet or cellphone. Another journalist was pummeled by plainclothes police officers after a demonstration. These types of attacks or other means of intimidation, including aggressive efforts by prosecutors to shut down news media outlets or nonprofit groups, serve as an unnerving deterrent. And in a few cases in recent years, the violence in the country has escalated into contract killings. Corruption is widespread in Russia, and government often functions poorly. But most journalists and nonprofit groups shy away from delving deeply into these problems. The culture of impunity in Russia represents the most glaring example of the country’s inability to establish real laws in the two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And this failure radiates throughout society, touching upon ordinary men and women who are trying to carve out lives in the new Russia, but are wary of questioning authority. Among the major beneficiaries [of Russia's "legal nihilism"] have been the governing party’s politicians.
