Reported cases of political prisoners in the Russian Federation
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 21 June 2022 (20th sitting) (see Doc. 15545, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Ms Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir). Text adopted by the Assembly on
21 June 2022 (20th sitting).See also Recommendation 2236 (2022).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is appalled
by the large and growing number of political prisoners in the Russian
Federation and the pattern of systematic repression by the current
authorities against all opponents.
2. It recalls that the European Court of Human Rights (the Court)
has delivered multiple judgments against the Russian Federation
in which it has found violations of the European Convention on Human
Rights (ETS No. 5, the Convention) arising from the arbitrary arrest
and detention of opposition politicians, civil society activists
and ordinary citizens demonstrating peacefully.
3. These violations of the right to liberty and security are
often combined with violations of the applicants’ rights to freedom
of assembly and to a fair trial.
4. In some of these cases, the Court noted that the arbitrary
arrest and detention of the applicants had an effect of preventing
or discouraging them and others from participating in protest rallies
and engaging actively in opposition politics.
5. The Assembly notes that in several judgments concerning Alexei
Navalny, a prominent opposition politician and anticorruption campaigner,
the Court also found violations of Article 18 in conjunction with
other articles of the Convention, based on the authorities’ misuse
of domestic law for the ulterior purpose of suppressing political
pluralism. The object of Article 18, which prohibits States from
restricting the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention
for purposes not prescribed by the Convention itself, is to prevent
the misuse of power (détournement de
pouvoir).
6. It is evident from the Court’s evaluation of converging contextual
evidence that the Russian authorities have become increasingly severe
in their response to the activities of Mr Navalny and other political
activists and, more generally, in their approach to public assemblies
of a political nature. These developments must also be seen in the
context of the increasing repression of political opponents over
the past several years or, as the Court stated in its Article 18
judgments, in the broader context of the Russian authorities’ attempts
to bring the opposition’s political activity under control.
7. Furthermore, the judgments of the Court finding a violation
of Article 18, and many others finding violations of the right to
liberty and security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression
or freedom of assembly, establish facts that clearly satisfy the
Assembly’s definition of “political prisoner”, as set out in its
Resolution 1900 (2012).
8. The Assembly further recalls that many other cases addressed
in the past years by the Assembly and its rapporteurs or by the
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights can also be inferred
to fulfil one or more of the criteria set out in the Assembly’s
definition of “political prisoner”.
9. The Assembly condemns the introduction of a number of restrictive
laws, including the “foreign agents” law, the law on “undesirable
organisations” and the law on “extremism” which have contributed
to the growing and systematic repression of political opponents,
journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists in
the Russian Federation. These repressive laws have all been criticised
by different Council of Europe bodies, including the European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission). Consequently, it should
be noted that the increasing scourge of political prisoners is due
to structural and systemic causes that have only been exacerbated
by the recent actions of the Russian authorities.
10. The Assembly recalls that lists of political prisoners have
long been maintained by the Memorial Human Rights Centre, one of
the Russian Federation’s most respected non-governmental organisations.
According to the latest information from Memorial, there are 478
political prisoners in the Russian Federation, including 113 strictly
political prisoners and 365 persons imprisoned on religious grounds.
Having [CPG1]regard to the strict criteria applied by Memorial,
which are based on, but not identical to, the definition in
Resolution 1900 (2012),
the Assembly considers these lists to be credible and reliable and
concludes that the persons featuring on them can be presumed to
be political prisoners who should therefore be released.
11. The Assembly notes that among the 365 persons imprisoned on
religious grounds according to Memorial, many are Jehovah’s Witnesses
who have been designated as “extremists” following the Russian Supreme
Court’s judgment of 2017 ordering the liquidation of the central
body and 395 local religious organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
As a consequence of this liquidation and the application of the
law on “extremism”, members of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been criminally
prosecuted and continue to be imprisoned in breach of their freedom
of thought, conscience and religion. The European Court of Human
Rights has recently held that this liquidation, together with the
criminal prosecution of individual Jehovah’s Witnesses and other
measures applied against them under the law on “extremism”, disclosed
multiple violations of the Convention, including of the right to
liberty and security. The Court has also stated that the Russian
Federation should take all necessary measures to secure the discontinuation
of all pending criminal proceedings against Jehovah’s Witnesses,
and release of all Jehovah’s Witnesses who have been deprived of
their liberty.
12. The Assembly reiterates its deep concern over the specific
situation of Crimean Tatars addressed in
Resolution 2387 (2021) “Human rights
violations committed against Crimean Tatars in Crimea”, in which,
inter alia, it called on the Russian
authorities to release any person unlawfully detained or imprisoned
due to the abusive application of Russian law in Crimea, including
for political reasons, and to put an immediate end to any administrative
or judicial harassment of Crimean Tatars. It also recalls its
Resolution 2231 (2018) “Ukrainian
citizens detained as political prisoners by the Russian Federation”,
in which it called on the Russian Federation to release without
further delay all Ukrainians detained in the Russian Federation
and in Crimea on politically motivated or fabricated charges. The
repression of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian citizens following the
Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its intervention
in eastern Ukraine serves as a stark warning of the horrors that
await the Ukrainian population.
13. The Assembly confirms its condemnation, in the strongest terms,
of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In
this context, it is gravely concerned by the reports of Ukrainian
mayors, local representatives, activists, volunteers, journalists
and other civilians who have been abducted or detained by Russian
forces during the ongoing war, in areas temporarily under their
control. It reiterates its call on the Russian Federation to immediately
release all kidnapped mayors and local representatives, activists, volunteers,
journalists and other abducted civilians and comply strictly with
its obligations under international law, including international
human rights and international humanitarian law.
14. In this context, the Assembly urges the Russian Federation
to fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian
law pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war, including the
defenders of Mariupol. It is appalled by the call by Leonid Slutsky,
Chair of the Russian Parliament’s Committee on International Affairs,
to reinstate the death penalty in the Russian Federation solely
for the purpose of executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. It also
strongly condemns the arbitrary trials in the temporarily occupied
territory of Ukraine whereby three Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers
of foreign origin were sentenced to death despite not being mercenaries
within the meaning of international humanitarian law. The Assembly
exhorts the Russian Federation to take all measures available to
comply with international law, revoke the arbitrary sentences, preserve
the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war and refrain from provocative
political statements and generalisations.
15. The Assembly reiterates its condemnation of the measures taken
by the Russian authorities since the beginning of the war of aggression
against Ukraine to further curtail freedom of expression, freedom
of assembly and freedom of association, through the intensifying
crackdown on civil society and independent media, the liquidation
of non-governmental organisations and the mass arrests of over 16 000
peaceful anti-war demonstrators. In this respect, it deplores the
adoption of new legislation criminalising the spread of “fake information”
about the Russian military with penalties of up to fifteen years
in prison. This development has given rise to numerous new cases
of political prisoners, including that of Vladimir Kara-Murza, an
opposition politician and historian detained and prosecuted under
the new law. It is of particular concern to the Assembly that Mr Kara-Murza
was arrested within weeks of testifying before the Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights regarding the situation of political
prisoners in the Russian Federation. Some 2 393 administrative cases and
58 criminal cases initiated in less than four months under the newly
adopted legislation show the systematic character of persecution
against anti-war protesters. It should also be noted that such legislation only
further reinforces the criminal policies of the current Russian
leadership against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Ukraine.
16. The Assembly stresses that the continuing detention of political
prisoners gives rise to violations of the European Convention on
Human Rights, to which the Russian Federation is still bound until
16 September 2022, but also to breaches of other international human
rights treaties to which the Russian Federation is party, such as
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
17. Despite the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council
of Europe, the Assembly should continue to follow the situation
of political prisoners in the Russian Federation and remind the
Russian authorities of their continuing international human rights
obligations, including the obligation to implement existing and
future judgments of the Court in respect of applicants who satisfy
the Assembly’s definition of “political prisoner”.
18. The Assembly therefore calls on the Russian Federation to:
18.1 implement all judgments of the
European Court of Human Rights concerning applicants who meet the
definition of “political prisoner” set out in
Resolution 1900 (2012), including
by taking individual measures to ensure that the violations of the
Convention have ceased and that all negative consequences have been
erased, in co-operation with the Committee of Ministers;
18.2 further to the Committee of Ministers’ decisions and the
interim measure granted by the European Court of Human Rights on
16 February 2021, and in accordance with
Resolution 2375 (2021) “The arrest and
detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021” and
Resolution 2423 (2022) “Poisoning
of Alexei Navalny,” release Alexei Navalny immediately;
18.3 further to the Committee of Ministers’ decisions, ensure
the release without further delay of Aleksey Pichugin, who has served
more than eighteen years’ imprisonment following unfair proceedings and
has been waiting for redress since 2013;
18.4 discontinue all pending criminal proceedings against Jehovah’s
Witnesses and release those who have been deprived of their liberty,
in accordance with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
in the case of Taganrog LRO and Others
v. Russia of 7 June 2022;
18.5 adopt without delay effective general measures to address
the structural and systemic problems identified by the European
Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers with regard
to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the right to liberty
in the Russian Federation to prevent new violations of the Convention,
including by repealing or amending laws that have only exacerbated
such problems, including the laws on “foreign agents”, “undesirable
organisations”, “extremism” and “fake information on the Russian
military”;
18.6 re-examine the cases of all persons appearing on the regularly
updated lists of political prisoners, including those imprisoned
on religious grounds, maintained by the Memorial Human Rights Centre,
and release those found to be political prisoners in accordance
with the definition set out in
Resolution 1900 (2012);
18.7 pending the release of these prisoners, or the re-examination
of their cases, ensure full respect for their rights, including
by respecting the prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment and ensuring the right of access to requisite
medical assistance in order that their health and well-being are
adequately secured:
18.8 co-operate with the European Committee for the Prevention
of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT),
as long as the Russian Federation remains a Party to the European
Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (ETS No. 126), and allow the monitoring
of the reported political prisoners’ state of health and conditions of
detention pending their release or re-examination of their cases;
18.9 implement relevant recommendations and decisions issued
by other international organisations of which the Russian Federation
is a member State, such as the United Nations and the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe, and human rights treaty-based
bodies which are competent to deal with individual communications
against the Russian Federation.
19. The Assembly encourages the High Commissioner for Human Rights
in the Russian Federation to follow closely the situation of political
prisoners and take action in accordance with her mandate.
20. The Assembly furthermore calls on all member and observer
States of the Council of Europe to:
20.1 facilitate the granting of visas and give careful consideration
to requests for asylum from former political prisoners and Russian
opposition politicians, civil society activists, journalists and
human rights defenders who need to leave the Russian Federation
in order to avoid persecution and/or arrest;
20.2 refuse extradition requests for Russian nationals for
offences which could be considered politically motivated;
20.3 use their “Magnitsky laws” or other legal instruments
to impose targeted sanctions against all those who, as police officers,
prosecutors, judges, prison officials or other officials, have contributed
to the unlawful and arbitrary deprivation of liberty of political
prisoners and their ill-treatment in detention;
20.4 consider enacting such legislation, if they have not yet
done so, in accordance with
Resolution 2252
(2019) “Sergei Magnitsky and beyond – fighting impunity
by targeted sanctions”.
21. The Assembly invites the European Court of Human Rights to
continue examining pending and future cases against the Russian
Federation in respect of alleged violations of the Convention committed
until 16 September 2022, in particular and as a matter of priority
those brought by applicants who are detained or convicted as a direct
consequence of a breach of their Convention rights, those raising
structural or systemic problems in the Russian legislation and practice
with regard to freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom
of assembly and freedom of association, in addition to those lodged
by applicants from the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine,
Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.
22. The Assembly invites the European Union to further strengthen
economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, its leaders and
officials, on account of their involvement and responsibility in
the persecution of political opponents and the continuing detention
of political prisoners, particularly that of Alexei Navalny and Aleksey
Pichugin.
23. It calls on INTERPOL to be particularly vigilant when dealing
with requests for Red Notices from the Russian National Central
Bureau that may be politically motivated, taking into account
Resolution 2315 (2019) “Interpol
reform and extradition proceedings: building trust by fighting abuse”.
24. The Assembly calls on member States to commemorate the International
Day of Political Prisoners every year on 30 October for all persons
imprisoned for political reasons.
