27/01/2015 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed “serious concern” about intimidation measures taken by the Russian authorities against the Committee against Torture (Komitet Protiv Pytok), a leading NGO providing legal aid and rehabilitation to torture victims in Russia and the winner of the Assembly’s Human Rights Prize in 2011.
“The committee condemns, in particular, the inclusion of this organisation by the Minister of Justice on 19 January 2015 on the list of ‘foreign agents’ on the grounds that it is ‘influencing government policies’ by making public its ‘negative assessments’ of the police and investigative bodies,” the committee said in a unanimous statement approved today.
“The stigmatisation as a ‘spy’ or ‘foreign traitor’ is discrediting for the Committee against Torture and may lead to the closure of its activities. Thus, the decision of the Minister of Justice calls into question the Russian authorities’ will to respect the right to freedom of association and to co-operate with the Council of Europe.”
The statement continues: “The committee is constantly worried about the implementation of the legislation on ‘foreign agents’, which targets independent human rights organisations receiving funds from abroad and which the Venice Commission has found incompatible with international human rights standards.”
Yves Cruchten (Luxembourg, SOC) is currently preparing a report for the committee on “How to prevent inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe”.