By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SOPHIA, Bulgaria – Despite recent protests, Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski vowed to continue his administration of the country, even if low public support delays much needed reform. European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly simultaneously called for public order and the continued right of public demonstration.

Currently, a number of problems plague Bulgaria’s aging population, including an ineffective market and failing health care and education systems. Tax collection and revenue agency reforms are also areas of concern.

In February 2013, Bulgaria’s former Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) government collapsed following protests over low living standards and high utility bills. By May, without backing from another party, GERB reclaimed an electoral majority. However, the BSP, which won second place, received support from another party in the legislature for Oresharski’s rise to power.

In June, demonstrators protested the Socialist government’s decision to appoint, without debate, a “media magnate” the head of the National Security Council. Even after parliament cancelled the appointment, protests have continued for nearly seven weeks in Sofia. Of thousands of Bulgarian protesters, most are young and well-educated anti-corruption demonstrators.

Most of the protests had been peaceful and overshadowed in international media by concurrent violence in Brazil, Turkey, and Egypt.

On 23 July 2013, protesters trapped more than 100 lawmakers, ministers, and journalists inside the parliament building. Protesters used paving stones, street signs, and park benches as barricades. Despite injuries to several protesters and at least one police officer, the rally continued for over eight hours. The streets rang with thousands shouting “Resign! Mafia!” Around 3:00AM, police escorted lawmakers away in vans.

A government decision to borrow nearly $700 million sparked the demonstrators’ decision to barricade lawmakers inside parliament.

“We want people in the parliament to start thinking about the people, and not only for their own pockets,” said demonstrator Anna Grozdanova.

“People’s patience has run out,” said Bulgarian cultural expert Alexander Kiossev, who recently protested in Sofia. “This patience has several times been overstretched by this government and previous ones.”

European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding openly sympathized with “Bulgarian citizens who are protesting on the streets against corruption.”

According to a recent poll, Oresharki’s coalition has the highest disapproval rating of any incoming Bulgarian government since 1997. Amidst protesters calling for Oresharki’s resignation, political analysts have predicted that the government will not last long because the Attack Party, while necessary for passing legislation, continues to push an anti-EU and anti-NATO agenda.

“When we speak of resignation,” said Oresharski, “that is an easy personal decision to make but would be irresponsible for the country… I have heard no convincing arguments explaining how resignation would automatically solve the problems of the country.”

Oresharski added that while protests have forced his government to be more effective, they have made enacting major reforms difficult. Nevertheless, he vowed to maintain fiscal rigor and help spur economic growth.

As demonstrated, however, if the corruption allegations are true, the Bulgarian people will not want the major reforms offered to them.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Bulgaria’s ‘Class War’ – 26 July 2013

Reuters – Bulgaria PM Refuses to Quit, Says Protests Hamper Reforms – 26 July 2013

TIME World – A Bulgarian Spring? Entrenched Protests Challenge Eastern Europe’s Status Quo – 26 July 2013

Deutsche Welle – Kiossev: ‘There’s a moral solidarity in Bulgaria’ – 25 July 2013

Reuters – Bulgaria Parliament Siege Escalates Political Crisis – 24 July 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine – A protest in Kiev spawned by the rape of a 29 year old woman last month was broken up by riot police last Friday.

Irina Krashkova, a single mother living in Vradiyevka, about 250 miles south of the capital city Kiev, implicated two police officers as her attackers last month, spawning widespread outrage over the perceived impunity of local officials and their friends.

Kiev’s city government had initially authorized the protest to occur on the city’s main square on Thursday, but after protestors erected tents to stay the night, police in riot gear arrived to remove the crowd of roughly 150 individuals. The riot police ultimately detained about ten people.

Krashkova was walking home from a bar in Vradiyevka late in June when she forced into a car by two police officers- 1^st Lt. Evhen Dryzhak and Lt. Dmitry Polishchuk, and their friend. They then allegedly drove Krashkova to the woods where they beat her to the point of a fractured skull, and took turns raping her.

Krashkova immediately identified Dryzhak as the leader of the assault, but he wasn’t arrested for a week. Residents of Vradiyevka were enraged due to a history of abuse by Dryzhak and suspected an attempted cover-up, as Dryzhak was closely connected to a top regional police official. These residents then stormed the police station, believing Dryzhak sought refuge inside.

The protestors threw rocks, smashed windows and used firebombs. Dryzhak was soon arrested after the incident, and the other two individuals involved in Krashkova’s assault were detained as well.

“I am 100 percent sure that had the people not risen up, this Dryzhak guy would have come out clean, he would be investigating this very case. They would have scared [Krashkova] into keeping her mouth shut,” a local opposition activist stated.

Reports of police abuse involving both bribery as well as violence have been prevalent in Ukraine since 2010, when President Viktor Yankovych took office. Opposition politicians believe that the police impunity is a result of protection from corrupt politicians in President Yankovych’s ruling party.

“The police force is rotting. The police have become dangerous to society…The most terrible thing is that an institution that should be entirely apolitical is now political,” stated an opposition lawmaker.

President Yankovych, however, ordered a top-level inquiry into the Krashkova case last month, and the regional prosecutor and heads of the regional and town police have all since been fired.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo News – Ukraine Rape Draws Outrage Over Official Impunity – 21 July 2013

The West Australian – Ukraine Police Disperse Protest Over Rape Case – 19 July 2013

Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty – Ukrainian Police-Abuse Protests Come to the Capital – 17 July 2013

Impunity Watch – Protest to Punish Police Leads Ukrainian President to Support a New Investigation – 7 July 2013

The West Australian – Outrage in Ukraine Over Police Accused of Raping Woman – 3 July 2013

 

 

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Anti-Putin blogger and Moscow mayoral candidate Aleksei Navalny is released from detention pending an appeal of his five-year prison sentence. Deputy Director Rachel Denber of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch stated that she was shocked at Navalny’s sentence, but not his guilty verdict.

Aleksei Navalny is considered a charismatic Russian blogger and anti-corruption activist who, in November 2010, claimed that an embezzlement scheme drained a state-owned oil pipeline company of $4 billion. Russian President Putin and the head of the company denied Navalny’s allegations.

In 2009, as an advisor to the Kirov Regional Governor, Navalny allegedly imposed a deal on a state-owned company, Kirovles. The resulting contract required that timber be supplied through a commercial intermediary. Navalny’s old acquaintance, Pyotr Ofitserov owned the intermediary company. Prosecutors charged Navalny and Ofitserov with embezzling over $500,000 from the state.

Although an initial investigation found Navalny not at fault, head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin re-opened the case after Navalny released several documents suggesting that Bastrykin acquired a right to reside in the Czech Republic based on property unknown to Russian officials.

On 17 July 2013, Navalny became officially registered as a mayoral candidate in Moscow’s September 8 elections. The following day, a trial court found Navalny and Ofitserov guilty of embezzlement. Navalny received a five year sentence, and Ofitserov four years.

In Moscow, between 2500 and 5000 activists appeared to protest the conviction. Across Russia’s nine time zones, 25 similar rallies were reported.

Human rights activists quickly drew parallels between Navalny in Russia and Edward Snowden in the US.

“Of course, there were other cases that made that parallel obvious,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “On the day before Snowden met human rights groups in Moscow airport, Russia found Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax fraud, after he died. And Magnitsky was also a whistleblower. It’s certainly a dark day today. We knew that it was going to happen, but that doesn’t prepare you for the shock of seeing him led away in handcuffs.”

However, the prosecutors who argued to place Navalny in detention soon argued to release Navalny and Ofitserov until their appeals were decided. While Navalny thanked the protestors who “forced them to release Pyotr” and himself, analysts saw the prosecutors’ change of heart more likely the result of Navalny’s mayoral candidacy, which ends if he is imprisoned.

“For now, he is still a candidate — he can campaign, his headquarters can work. Even the Moscow Election Commission has said this on the basis of the law,” explained Russian election-law expert Leonid Kirichenko. Nevertheless, if upheld, Navalny’s conviction would bar him from holding public office.

Currently, Navalny is the strongest Putin opponent, and is speculated to become a presidential candidate if elected mayor.

Absent an upheld conviction, Navalny will have difficulty showing that Putin himself wants to remove Navalny as opposition. With a conviction, such showing is a fruitless endeavor.

For further information, please see:

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – Criticism of Navalny Trial Pours in from Russia, West – July 20, 2013

Bloomberg BusinessWeek – Putin Foe Navalny Vows Battle for Power on Return to Moscow – July 20, 2013

CNN International – What’s Behind Conviction of Russian Opposition Activist Aleksei Navalny? – July 20, 2013

Reuters – Navalny Embodies Generation of Rebellious Russians – July 20, 2013

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – News Analysis: Twists in Navalny Case Leave Heads Spinning – July 19, 2013

Huffington Post UK – Alexei Navalny Jailed: Fury in Moscow as Demonstrators Protest Five-Year Sentence – July 18, 2013

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – Explainer: What Comes Next for Aleksei Navalny? – July 18, 2013

Telegraph – Anger as Russian Activist Aleksei Navalny is Sentenced to Five Years – July 18, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s Parliament passed an austerity measure bill on Wednesday despite rallying outside the building and a Tuesday strike that drew over 16,000 protestors on to the streets of Athens.

After a narrow vote of 153 to 140, the Greek Parliament passed the public sector reform bill which may cause thousands of civil servants to lose their jobs by 2014.

Under the newly-enacted bill, over 4,000 state employees will be dismissed from their posts this upcoming year; including teachers and municipal police officers. Another 25,000 workers will be placed into a “mobility pool” by the end of the year. Workers in the mobility pool will face decreased wages coupled with forced transfers or outright dismissals. In addition, the plan’s goal is to see an additional 15,000 workers cut from public payroll by the end of 2014.

Government employees have been occupying city buildings this week to protest the austerity measures. On Tuesday, thousands of public servants walked off their respective jobs to participate in a 24-hour strike, assembled by Greece’s two main labor unions.

“We will resist all those whose wrongheaded and dead-end choices have led the Greek people into poverty and wretchedness,” stated a spokesman from the labor union, Gsee.

Tuesday’s strike temporarily closed tax offices and governments services. Athens’ hospitals were reduced to emergency staff, and public transportation was suspended. Flights in and out of Athens were suspended from noon to 4:00 PM, as well. A police spokesman has stated that Tuesday’s gathering of over 16,000 protestors in Athens was “entirely peaceful.”

During Parliament’s vote on Wednesday, thousands of additional protestors gathered outside of the Parliament House, only to return home bitter and outraged.

The government, led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, has stated it has no choice but to adopt the budget cuts and enforce the measure. In order for Greece to secure the first installment of $9 billion in loans, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund mandated a showing that the Greek government is committed to fiscal change.

In response to the protests in Athens this week, Greek police have banned public protests in Athens on Thursday, while German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is visiting the city.

Ban on Demonstrations

As Germany has been one of Greece’s biggest lenders in recent years, Schaeuble is one of the EU’s most outspoken advocates of tougher austerity measures in Greece.

But many feel that the complete city-ban on demonstrations is crossing the line.

“This action is fascist and undemocratic…” a spokesman for a Greek leftwing political party has stated.

The two labor unions responsible for Tuesday’s 16,000 person demonstration have stated they have no plans for an encore on Thursday.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Greece to Sack Thousands of Public Workers – 17 July 2013

BBC News – Greek MPs Back Public Sector Cuts Amid Protests – 17 July 2013

Ekathimerini – Greece Approves Scheme to Fire Thousands of Public Workers – 17 July 2013

Yahoo News – Greece Bans Protests During Schaeuble Visit – 17 July 2013

New York Times – Greece Hit by General Strike to Protest Austerity – 16 July 2013

 

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Against the views of the European Union and Amnesty International, Russia found Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax evasion in the country’s first posthumous trial. In absentia, Russia also found guilty Magnitsky’s boss, William Browder.

Before his arrest, Sergei Magnitsky campaigned against corruption, and believed that he uncovered a tax scam involving several interior ministry officials, who allegedly stole 150 million Euros. In turn, Russian officials accused Magnitsky and Browder of creating their own tax scheme to defraud the government. As a British Citizen and resident, Browder was neither physically detained nor likely to be extradited under the circumstances.

While in prison, Magnitsky claimed that he was mistreated and denied medical care in attempt to make him confess to tax evasion. In 2009, at age 37, Magnitsky died of untreated illnesses. The Kremlin’s human rights council added that evidence demonstrate Magnitsky had been beaten to death. However, President Vladimir Putin dismissed allegations of torture and mistreatment. According to Putin, Magnitsky died of heart failure.

Under a July 2011 ruling by the Russian Constitutional Court, posthumous trials became possible. Nevertheless, Amnesty International stated that in prosecuting Magnitsky, Russia “set a dangerous precedent that could open a whole new chapter in Russia’s worsening human rights record.”

In agreement, the European Union said the trial sent “a disturbing message to those who fight corruption in Russia.”

Browder remarked that the verdict which convicted Magnitsky and himself would “go down in history as one of the most shameful moments for Russia since the days of Josef Stalin.”

Browder’s Hermitage Capital said in a statement: “This show trial confirms that Vladimir Putin is ready to sacrifice his international credibility to protect corrupt officials who murdered an innocent lawyer and stole $230 million from the Russian state.”

In the US, Browder had lobbied for the Magnitsky Act, which became law in December 2012. Under the Magnitsky Act, the US blacklists Russian officials believed to have been involved in Magnitsky’s death or severe human rights abuses against other persons, and freezes that person’s assets. In response, Russia created its own blacklist of US officials involved in Guantanamo, and further prohibited Americans from adopting Russian children.

Following Magnitsky’s conviction, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Baer encouraged consideration of expanding the blacklist against Russia. “My bureau has been involved in producing the first list, and we do see it as an ongoing project and we plan to add names to the list,” Baer said.

“We have explained repeatedly that the “war of blacklists” started by Washington is unquestionably a dead end, dooming Russian-US relations to fruitless confrontation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a heated statement. The ministry went on to point out that the Prism surveillance documents released by Edward Snowden provide several names that Russia could use to expand its blacklist against the US.

Without even the aid of Interpol, Russia’s battle for its officials may stop short of Browder. However, in disregarding international reputation, Russia will win control over its people.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – Sergei Magnitsky Trial: This is Putin’s Kind of Justice – July 13, 2013

Voice of Russia – Russia Reacts Angrily to US Threat to Expand Magnitsky List – July 13, 2013

Euronews – Russian Lawyer Magnitsky Found Guilty of Tax Fraud Four Years after Death – July 11, 2013

Reuters – Russia Convicts Lawyer Magnitsky in Posthumous Trial – July 11, 2013

RT – Court Finds Magnitsky, Bowder Guilty of Tax Evasion — July 11, 2013

Telegraph – Russia Finds Sergei Magnitsky Guilty of Tax Evasion – July 11, 2013