A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to Hong Kong
Continue reading...Category Archives: Alexei Navalny
Russian court orders closure of another human rights group
Memorial Human Rights Centre liquidated a day after its sister group, Memorial, in assault on civil liberties
A Russian court has ordered the closure of the Memorial Human Rights Centre (MHRC), a day after the supreme court revoked the legal status of its sister organisation, Memorial International.
Moscow city court authorised the dissolution of the group – one of Russia’s most venerated human rights institutions – for the “justification of extremism and terrorism” by religious groups including Jehovah’s Witnesses officially considered “extremist” in Russia.
Continue reading...Court cases threatening human rights group Memorial start in Russia
Cases under ‘foreign agents’ law mark attack on civil society and attempt to recast Soviet history
Russia may dissolve Memorial, the country’s premier human rights group, in an attack on civil society and symbolic reversal of the freedoms won by dissidents at the fall of the Soviet Union.
A supreme court case, to be heard on Thursday, may mark a watershed in Vladimir Putin’s campaign to recast Soviet history by banning International Memorial, which began meeting in the late 1980s to shed light on atrocities and political repression under Joseph Stalin and other Soviet leaders.
Continue reading...Navalny honoured, Regeni trial begins: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Russia to Yemen
Apple and Google accused of ‘political censorship’ over Alexei Navalny app
Navalny’s supporters say companies deleted tactical voting app from stores after pressure from Kremlin
Supporters of the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have accused Google and Apple of capitulating to Kremlin pressure after the two tech companies deleted his tactical voting app from their online stores.
Both companies had come under significant pressure from Russian regulators in the days before the courntry’s parliamentary elections to block access to Navalny’s Smart Voting initiative, which tries to channel opposition votes toward the strongest opponents of the ruling party, United Russia.
Continue reading...Russian minister complains to US about role of ‘digital giants’ in election
Sergei Ryabkov’s claim of interference in Duma vote believed to be reference to anti-Putin apps on Apple and Google
The Russian foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador, John Sullivan, to complain about alleged interference by “American digital giants” in Russia’s upcoming parliamentary election.
According to a ministry statement on Friday, the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, claimed Russia “possesses irrefutable evidence of the violation of Russian legislation by American digital giants in the context of the preparation and conduct of elections to the state Duma”.
Continue reading...Russian government moves to repress opposition in run-up to elections
Ruling United Russia party silences critics, cracks down on poll monitors and offers cash to voters as its support slumps
The Russian government has silenced opposition voices, approved cash payouts to potential voters, and made it nearly impossible to monitor the polls as it prepares for parliamentary elections next month that the opposition has warned will be marred by fraud.
United Russia, the ruling party that has supported Vladimir Putin through nearly his entire presidency, is expected to maintain a majority of the seats in the next Duma, despite state polling that shows that just 26% of Russians are ready to vote for the party – its lowest rating since 2008.
Continue reading...UK imposes sanctions on seven Russians over Navalny poisoning
FCDO says the individuals, said to be FSB members, will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes
Sanctions have been imposed on seven Russian nationals accused of involvement in the nerve agent poisoning of the key Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the UK government has said.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced that the individuals, said to be members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), would be subject to travel bans and asset freezes.
Continue reading...Alexei Navalny calls for tougher action on global corruption
Exclusive: Russian opposition leader likely to infuriate Kremlin with letter dictated from behind bars
The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has written from behind bars to urge western politicians to take meaningful action against global corruption and to impose personal sanctions against oligarchs “in the entourage of Vladimir Putin”.
Writing in the Guardian before the first anniversary of his poisoning on 20 August last year, Navalny lambasts western leaders for not doing more to tackle what he admits is a “tricky issue”. He says his own survival after being exposed to novichok was only down to incompetence and corruption inside Russia’s FSB spy agency.
Continue reading...Russia blocks access to websites of Alexei Navalny and close allies
Action comes as Kremlin increases pressure on opponents and critics ahead of parliamentary elections
Russian authorities have restricted access to Alexei Navalny’s website and those of dozens of his close allies, the imprisoned opposition leader’s team has said.
The action came as the government increased pressure on opposition supporters, independent journalists and human rights activists ahead of the country’s parliamentary election. The September vote is widely seen as an important part of Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cement his rule before a 2024 presidential election.
Continue reading...Russia rights group linked to Navalny closes amid prosecution fears
Team 29 is the latest victim of Kremlin crackdown on organisations it considers ‘undesirable’
A rights group in Russia has announced it is shutting down, citing fears its members and supporters may be prosecuted after authorities blocked its website for allegedly publishing content from an “undesirable” organisation.
Team 29 – an association of lawyers and journalists specialising in treason and espionage cases and freedom of information issues – said on Sunday that Russian authorities accused it of spreading content from a Czech non-governmental organisation that had been declared “undesirable” in Russia.
Continue reading...UN warns of worst ‘cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes’
Rights chief calls for concerted global action, citing recent violations in China, Russia and Ethiopia
The UN rights chief has called for concerted action to recover from the worst global deterioration of rights she had seen, highlighting the situation in China, Russia and Ethiopia among others.
“To recover from the most wide-reaching and severe cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes, we need a life-changing vision, and concerted action,” Michelle Bachelet told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s 47th session.
Continue reading...Putin refuses to give guarantee Navalny will survive prison – video
Vladimir Putin has refused to give any guarantee that the opposition leader Alexei Navalny will get out of prison alive, saying nobody imprisoned in Russia should be given exclusive treatment.
In an extended and testy interview with NBC News before his Geneva summit with Joe Biden, the Russian president refused to use Navalny's name, leaving journalist Keir Simmons to say 'his name is Alexei Navalny'.
Continue reading...No sign of thaw between Russia and US ahead of Geneva summit
Analysts say event will be ‘boring’ as both sides attempt a reboot following catastrophic meeting between Trump and Putin in 2017
On the 24-hour Russian state news channel, Thursday began as any other might: with a segment about the ageing president of the United States battling back cicadas and then giving a “confused” speech about his upcoming summit in Geneva with Vladimir Putin.
“I’ll let [Putin] know what I want him to know,’” said Biden after a cutaway shot of him swatting his neck before boarding Air Force One this week.
Continue reading...Biden says Putin a ‘worthy adversary’ ahead of talks – video
Joe Biden said meeting with Vladimir Putin would be ‘critical’ and that he would offer to cooperate on areas of common interest if the Kremlin so choses. Biden warned that if Russia chose not to cooperate in areas like cybersecurity ‘then we will respond’. The US president also characterised Putin as ‘bright’, ‘tough’ and ‘a worthy adversary’. When questioned by reporters, Biden said the potential death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, now jailed in Russia, would be a tragedy and would hurt Russian relations with the rest of the world and with the United States. The two men are meeting in Geneva on 16 June for the first time as presidents
- Biden says US-Russia relations at low point but ‘we’re not looking for conflict’
- Vladimir Putin refuses to guarantee Navalny will survive prison
- Joe Biden to use Nato summit to atone for damage of Trump years
Navalny backers see cautionary tale in Russian raids on Jehovah’s Witnesses
Analysis: members of religious group declared extremist in 2017 have faced arrests, surveillance and prison
The decision by a Moscow court to declare Alexei Navalny’s nationwide political organisation as “extremist” adds the group to a list associated with terrorist organisations such as al-Qaida and Islamic State.
But for a guide to how Russia could treat Navalny’s supporters, a better example is the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a non-violent religious group that has felt the full extent of Russia’s law on extremism.
Continue reading...Russian court outlaws Alexei Navalny’s organisation
Court has in effect liquidated the opposition politician’s movement by classifying it as ‘extremist’
A Russian court has outlawed opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s nationwide political organisation on the grounds it is “extremist”, in a landmark step forward for Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on political dissent.
The highly anticipated court decision in effect liquidates Navalny’s non-violent opposition movement and bars his allies from running for office for years, as the Kremlin seeks to erase the jailed opposition leader from Russian political life.
Continue reading...Top Russian doctor at Navalny clinic found after disappearance
Alexander Murakhovsky speaks to press three days after going missing while on holiday in a Siberian forest
The former chief physician of the hospital where the Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny was first treated for novichok poisoning has been found alive days after disappearing into a Siberian forest.
Alexander Murakhovsky emerged from a forest in the Omsk region on Monday three days after vanishing while on holiday, abandoning an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) miles from a hunting lodge where he was staying with friends.
Continue reading...Refugees and the Armenian genocide: human rights this fortnight in pictures
A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Colombia to China
Continue reading...Amnesty International restores Alexei Navalny’s prisoner of conscience status
- Human rights group apologizes to Russian opposition leader
- Navalny’s past nationalist statements had been at issue
Amnesty International has apologized to the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for stripping him of its “prisoner of conscience” status and said it would restore the designation.
Amnesty announced on 24 February that it would stop referring to Russia’s most prominent opposition activist as a prisoner of conscience on the grounds that in the past he had made comments that qualified as advocacy of hatred.
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