Russia’s New Law Labels NGOs as “Foreign Agents”

Russia’s New Law Labels NGOs as “Foreign Agents”

By Connie Hong
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia– Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill that labels all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that engage in political activity as “foreign agents.” Opposition groups believe that the new law is yet another method for Putin to silence political dissent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo Courtesy of Ria Novosti)
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo Courtesy of Ria Novosti)

The bill was quickly pushed through the lower and upper houses of parliament before their summer breaks; the State Duma lower house approved the bill on July 13, and the upper house Federation Council approved of it on July 18. Putin signed the bill into law just four days later on July 21.

This new law requires NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register with the authorities as foreign agents. They are further required to publish a biannual report on their activities and carry out an annual financial audit in order to regularly inform the public on their sources of income and their management. They are also required to comply with official checks of their income, accounting, and management structures. Failure to abide by the new legislation could result in four-year jail sentences and/or fines of up to 300,000 rubles ($9,200).

The new law applies broadly to NGOs engaging in political activity, but exempts religious groups and organizations associated with the state or state companies.

Activists are concerned that the law will be used to stigmatize critical NGOs, specifically the ones that report on human rights abuses committed under Putin’s rule. The new law has also been criticized as another attempt to curb free speech and limit information available to the public.

The legislation has gained international attention as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recently expressed concern about “a worrying shift in the legislative environment governing the enjoyment of the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, and information.” U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has also expressed mirroring concerns regarding how the law will impact free speech.

Moscow has responded by rebuking the U.S. State Department for its “gross interference.”

While the label of “foreign agent” under the new law does not directly charge the NGO with espionage, it does carry with it negative implications of unpatriotic behavior. Such implications has led the leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, to turn down foreign grants in order to avoid having to register the group as a “foreign agent.” The Moscow Helsinki Group is one of Russia’s oldest human rights organizations.

Alexeyeva, who turned 85 pm Friday, asked supporters not to give her any gifts but to offer financial assistance to her organization to make up for the funding cut.

 

For further information, please see:

Chicago Tribune — Russia’s Putin signs NGO “foreign agents” law — 22 July 2012

The News — Putin signs law branding NGOs ‘foreign agents’ — 22 July 2012

France 24 — Putin signs law branding NGOs ‘foreign agents’ — 21 July 2012

Jurist — Putin signs law labeling NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ — 21 July 2012

Ria Novosti — Putin Signs Foreign Agent NGO Law — 21 July 2012

 

Argentine Police Officers Arrested and Accused of Torture

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—A video was released last week revealing six police officers torturing two young men in the northern city of Salta. The video, which was posted on YouTube, shows two men, wearing only their underwear, as water is poured over them. The men were surrounded by several others wearing civilian clothing and who were—apparently—the officers implicated in this case. One of the young men had a bag placed over his head until he began suffocating.

The Video, Posted Last Week, Showed Two Young Men Being Tortured During an Interrogation by Salta Police. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The victims were being held on a patio where a high concrete wall is seen in the background. At one point during the video, an interrogator asked one of the suspects a question. The victim answered fearfully, “I swear to you that I don’t know anything about it.” He repeated this several times. The interrogator then covered the young man’s head with a plastic bag and tied it around his neck. The suspect began violently shaking and yelling until he fell to the floor. The interrogator then took the bag off of his head and the victim continued laying on the floor gasping for air.

The video outraged many people in this South American country. Activists noted that the real tragedy here is that Argentina’s police routinely use torture against crime suspects. Maria del Carmen Verdu, director of CORREPI, a watchdog organization against institutional and police repression said, “This is news because someone put the video on the Internet. If these images didn’t exist, these two kids would be part of the army of police station torture victims that nobody worries about and has no social impact.”

Authorities responded to the video’s release on Thursday by detaining five of the officers seen in the video. The sixth officer was arrested a day later. The latest officer who was arrested is suspected of having taped the video on his cellular phone. However, it is not clear whether he was also the one to upload the video on the Internet.

In the 1970s and 1980s stories of police torture and abuse were resonant in Argentina when security forces used torture under the country’s military rule. Daniel Segura, the head of the police station where the tortures allegedly occurred stated that it will be “lamentable that we’ll be known for this.” He said also, that simply wearing a police uniform does not mean that a person has a true calling for the profession.

 

For further information, please see:

CNN – Argentine Police Officers Accused of Torture That Appears on Video – 21 July 2012

Ventura County Star – Argentines Outraged Over Police Interrogation – 21 July 2012

BBC – Argentine Police Arrested Over Salta ‘Torture Video’ – 20 July 2012

United Press International – Torture Video Posted, 6 Police Arrested – 20 July 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest – Monday 23 July 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

No Refuge!

Four of Assad’s top aides were killed, and several more injured, still the shelling and killing continue. There’s no denying it anymore: it’s Assad and his brother who are guiding this process. They are the main culprits, and they cannot be pardoned.

Sunday July 22, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 111. The Breakdown: 65 in Damascus and Suburbs, 13 in Daraa, 12 in idlib, 10 in Homs, 7 in Deir Ezzor, 5 in Hama, 3 in Aleppo, 2 in Quneitra, 1 in Lattakia, 1 in Banyas and 1 in Raqqah.

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen (Idlib)

Turkish authorities use tear gas to disperse protests in the Syrian refugee camp in Kilis http://youtu.be/rbmTfuyVPX0

News

Syrian forces execute 20 unarmed men in Damascus: activists (Reuters) – Syrian troops executed at least 20 unarmed men in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezzeh on Sunday who they suspected of aiding rebels in the area, opposition activists in the district said. (Video from activists)

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Syria’s Kurds stand alone after rejecting rebels and regime As long as Turkey remains opposed to Kurdish independence and the KRG lacks opportunities to break its financial reliance on Baghdad, an independent Kurdistan will remain a remote prospect.

Lee Smith: No Sanctuary for Assad Almost everything that has unfolded in Syria over the last 16 months was predictable. The White House has failed repeatedly to take advantage of the Syrian dictator’s travails. Now with Assad fighting for his life, it’s time for the administration finally to show a killer instinct. If the regime takes flight from Damascus, it should never be allowed to reach safe haven in Latakia.

Where Can Syria’s Asma Assad Go? As her husband’s reign crumbles, rumors are flying that Syria’s first lady has fled to Russia—a state notorious for sheltering global outlaws.

By shelling the village of Jabatha Al-Khashab in Quneitra Province on the border of Israel, Assad officially violated the ceasefire agreement in place since 1974. The move, however, did not warrant any response from Israel, because Assad was still targeting his own people http://youtu.be/4kBPvt6QGPA

Turks, Kurds, And Al-Qaeda

Kurdish activists say that this video shows Turkish troops arriving in Nusaybinehttp://youtu.be/VA2hctdPel4 The move seems to come in response to the recent takeover by Syrian Kurds of their communities in Syria, rather than to the anything else happening in Syria. No similar response took place when Syrian rebels aided by Al-Qaeda forces took over the border checkpoint of Bab Al-Hawa in the northwest.

Regarding Al-Qaeda’s and foreign fighters’ presence in northern Syria, AFP noted:

Rebel forces gained control of the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Thursday, but on Saturday, a group of some 150 foreign fighters were in control of the post, an AFP photographer said. Some fighters said they belonged to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), while others claimed allegiance to a group called Shura Taliban. They were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket launchers and improvised mines.

The world has waited too long, and the wrong forces rose up to fill up the vacuum. Indeed, while trying to downplay the role played by foreighn fighters and Al-Qaed ain Syria, spokesman for the FSA, Col. Malik Kurdi, noted that frustration with the international reposnse towards the situation in Syria and the refusal by the international community to arm the FSA have facilitated the rise of radical elements. But in order to contain this tendency, Col. Kurdi said, the FSA has to include these radical elements in its membership.

A New Twist

Hassam Hassam is a name familiar to those who followed developments related to the assassination of Former Lebanese PM, Rafic Al-Hairir. It’s the name of a Syrian intelligence officer who played a twisted role in the plot and who finally returned to Syria to resume his job. Hassam was captured on Saturday by Syrian rebels in Damascus City following an attack on a security headquarters. Upon his capture, Hassam identified himself and led his captors to a “treasure trove” of documents related to the Hariri assassination and in a video interview with his captors promised more sensational revelations. For their part, his captors promised to send Hassam to Saad Al-Hariri in Beirut as a gifthttp://youtu.be/YtSgAsCV1y8 And here is Haaretz report on this matter.

Video Highlights

Damascus

Several neighborhoods in the Mazzeh District, Damascus City, were pounded today for the third consecutive day http://youtu.be/1Bj4HPPGE6A The neighborhoods that were pounded are close to the Canadian and the Iranian Embassies as well as Al-Razi Hospital. The local cactus groves (cactus is a popular fruit in the summer) were also pounded to prevent rebels from hiding there http://youtu.be/xVCGHi-uOXs , http://youtu.be/uUhTOZNFD2M But pounding was not enough, the regime soon sent in bulldozers to make sure that the groves are destroyed once and for all. Pro-Assad militias executed 20 local activists believe to have supported the rebels http://youtu.be/u2akHXejDrU

Local rebels attack the police headquarters in Khalid Bin Al-Waleed Streetarmed with light weapons in retaliation for the massacre that took place there on Friday http://youtu.be/Z8lKH8NUDgE Here is the brigade patrolling free in the narrow streets of Old Damascus http://youtu.be/8vLsJ04RDZ8

In Qaboun Neighborhood, local activists found bodies belonging to people who were killed in their own home http://youtu.be/p2GUPdNo90k and people keep pulling burnt out bodies from under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the shelling http://youtu.be/DKq9EQmqRqw Meanwhile, helicopter gunships pound the neighborhood of Barzeh http://youtu.be/CKYNWyceNIU

In Naher Eisheh, dozens of loyalist troops patrol the streetshttp://youtu.be/IN4RZ_ewG3Y

The pounding of Zabadani, Damascus Suburbs, continueshttp://youtu.be/fyZRxFP1bKM , http://youtu.be/o1P3gB5KXQQ

In the town of Dmeir, local activists found several unidentified bodies in the streets http://youtu.be/7n_eYVMq5TI in addition to one of their ownhttp://youtu.be/yvULGmXOSyc all were obviously executed by pro0-Assad militias.

Aleppo

Rebels liberate the border crossing at Al-Salamah at the Syrian-Turkish bordershttp://youtu.be/UQYVZMWBLjI The Jarablos crossing was also liberatedhttp://youtu.be/DR9-cr8j8cQ

Rebels have established control over major parts of Aleppo City: Hananohttp://youtu.be/xARakSNSa1c Clashes continued in Haydariyehhttp://youtu.be/sfaYs4Ya6Is , http://youtu.be/OEayDCYqFbA Tanks come inhttp://youtu.be/AoyW91WzN3s Seif Al-Dawleh http://youtu.be/2NBcWoK1EkAThe pounding of Al-Ard Al-Hamrah http://youtu.be/Xxn73h7jjrw The pounding ofSakhour http://youtu.be/79YZFK5Aer4 Clashes in Sakhourhttp://youtu.be/RWUuW0GeSE4 Rebels patrol the neighborhoodhttp://youtu.be/Bw5pxLDwxHY Nighttime clashes take place in Salaheddinehttp://youtu.be/5DZWIhErNGY More reinforcements arrive to support the rebels in Aleppo City http://youtu.be/X7aRz0dN4sk Taking Aleppo one checkpoint at a time http://youtu.be/1Qda3RTSYdE

In Al-Atareb, Aleppo Province, local resistance groups storm the local police academy http://youtu.be/M9LdbipLOaU , http://youtu.be/RDGDHDeIF38 ,http://youtu.be/GGbPWc8ub34 , http://youtu.be/scaaQF2xFr0 In the town ofEizaz, rebels take control of a tank http://youtu.be/nfGVY5EHEb0 ,http://youtu.be/Xzd1KBxEQvs

Elsewhere

The pounding of Rastan continues http://youtu.be/qnW995c5plE ,http://youtu.be/StQpwTpd0WM Desolation http://youtu.be/SQlX4Zol77U But local rebels keep pushing back attempts at invading the city and keep pushing back all checkpoints http://youtu.be/KHuAyCw2TC0 , http://youtu.be/sFas0abkjLQ

Pro-Assad militias are reportedly looting the treasures of Palmyra (Tadmor), Homs Province http://youtu.be/Q2GtEfP–7A

Clashes in Tafas, Daraa Province, between rebels and loyalistshttp://youtu.be/brEmN7U7u8A

The pounding of Hawash, Hama Province, continueshttp://youtu.be/aC82uXjW9l0 , http://youtu.be/Dl0remsjXhM ,http://youtu.be/IdDUWgpc2K8

In the town of Armanaz, Idlib Province, local fighters manage to repel an attack by loyalist troops http://youtu.be/ksMGqcnoiOU then proceed to take over the local police station http://youtu.be/iHo6_bLuLsA

Jabal Al-Akrad, Lattakia Province: the regime tries to jumpstart fires by pounding the mountains where rebels are hiding http://youtu.be/soNBEhag6fE

Syrian Network for Human Rights and Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies: Arbeen Massacre

This is a detailed and verified account of the Al-Arbeen massacre committed by the Al-Assad regime’s forces on Thursday, 19 July 2012.  On that Thursday, regime forces launched an offensive on the town of Al-Arbeen at 6:00 a.m., starting with a heavy and indiscriminate shelling attack using both military planes and tanks to shell residential homes.

A video showing a helicopter launching a shell at the town.

Snipers were stationed on high buildings and targeted any civilians attemting to step outside their home, particularly the terrified residents who attempted to flee from their homes to escape the shelling.  Regime forces paused the shelling offensive for a short period of time, but then renewed attacks with tanks, rockets, and military planes and helicopters.

Although shelling attacks were reported all over the town, 90 percent of the rockets which fell targeted At-Tahoon Street, near the old Al-Quwaidar gas station.  It left the street in shambles and completely destroyed the electric grid in the area.

The destruction caused by the shelling attacks.

Activists and eyewitnesses to the attack and its aftermath verified that more than 200 mortar shells were used to attack the town.  This military offensive by regime forces resulted in 28 casualties and dozens of wounded residents, all in a matter of a few short hours.  The makeshift hospitals established were simply not enough to keep up with the sheer amount of wounded residents brought in.
**WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**

Some of the victims of the massacre.

 

All information and videos in this report provided by:

Syrian Network for Human Rights

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria

UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission Calls on the British Government to Urgently Impose Visa Bans and Asset Freezes on Magnitsky Killers and Other Corrupt Officials

Press Release
Hermitage Capital

20 July 2012 – As the Magnitsky bill moves forward in the US Congress, the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission has urged the UK Foreign Secretary to take urgent steps to implement similar visa bans and asset freezes on corrupt Russian officials involved in the torture and death of 37-year whistle-blowing lawyer and in other gross human rights abuses, and to make public the names of blacklisted officials.

“In recognition of the unique position of London as a destination of choice for many senior Russian officials, the government should take action to introduce measures to publicly restrict visas and to freeze the assets of Russian officials involved in serious corruption and human rights abuses as soon as possible,” said the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission in its July 2012 Report (http://www.conservativehumanrights.com/pdf/CHRC_Violations_against_Professionals.pdf).

The Commission has expressed its “grave concern” over the Magnitsky case and stressed that it highlights the problems faced by professionals and businesspeople in countries with “weak or non-existent concept of the rule of law, no independent judiciary and high levels of corruption.”

The Magnitsky case demonstrates that people doing business in Russia “face significant risks not only financially but also personally,” said the Commission.

Robert Buckland MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, said:

“The Commission heard first-hand about the severity of continuing corruption in Russia.  The Magnitsky case is one powerful example that people in Russia are faced with everyday, and persuaded the Commission of the need to tackle this issue directly.”

The Commissions’ recommendations followed a submission by William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital, during hearings held in the British Parliament by the Conservative Human Rights Commission last November. Sergei Magnitsky was working as an outside counsel for Hermitage Capital when he uncovered and exposed the largest tax fraud in Russian history perpetrated by Russian officials. He testified against the officials involved and was subsequently arrested by the same officials, tortured and killed in custody.

In July 2012, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission issued a report entitled “Professionals in the Firing Line: A report on violations of human rights affecting doctors, lawyers, teachers, business people and other professionals around the world,” which discusses the Magnitsky case and its implications for the UK foreign policy.

The Commission points out that UK has become one the most favored destinations for Russian officials and is calling on the British government to hold Russia accountable to its international obligations under its membership in prestigious international organisations.

“The Commission urges the British government to emphasise that Russia’s membership of European and global organisations such as the Council of Europe, OSCE and World Trade Organisation carries with it the responsibility to operate according to international rules,” points out the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission in its July 2012 Report.

Last week, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly representing parliament members from 56 countries passed with an overwhelming majority the Magnitsky Resolution calling on all OSCE member parliaments to impose visa bans and asset freezes on the Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case (http://www.oscepa.org/news-a-media/press-releases/1025-parliamentarians-vote-for-visa-ban-bill-rule-of-law-in-russia).

“Step by step every civilized country in the world will ban the people who killed Sergei Magnitsky. There is clearly no justice to be had for Sergei Magnitsky inside Russia, so it is up to governments around the world to punish the ongoing corruption and impunity from outside of Russia,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

The Conservative Party Human Rights Commission is a body established to highlight international human rights concerns, and to inform, advise and develop the Conservative party’s foreign policy by making human rights a priority.

In its report that will be submitted to the UK Foreign Secretary, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission has welcomed the changes in the immigration policy announced by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April that would not permit entry to the UK to foreign human rights offenders.

“This is a hugely welcome step and mirrors the positive actions being taken at the EU level and in the US Congress,” said the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission.

The initiative of visa sanctions targeting corrupt foreign officials originated following the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year old Russian lawyer who was tortured and killed in Russian police custody. Since his death, his British employer William Browder has been campaigning around the world to create consequences for those Russian officials involved in the death of Mr Magnitsky and the $230 million corruption he had uncovered, and who in spite of the incriminating evidence, continue to enjoy impunity and state protection in Russia.

 

For further information please contact:

Hermitage Capital
Phone:            +44 207 440 17 77
E-mail:            info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website:         http://lawandorderinrussia.org
Facebook:       http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI
Twitter:            @KatieFisher__
Livejournal:      http://hermitagecap.livejournal.com/