Impunity Watch: Europe

Russia Faces Criticism Over Election Observers, Fires Back

By Brent Surgeoner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

VIENNA, Austria - The European Union and election monitoring group, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), have called on Russia to remove restrictions on poll monitors ahead of the upcoming presidential election on March 2.

As described by Reuters, the ODIHR is the “long-term election monitoring arm” of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).   

Due to restrictions on how many observers will be allowed into Russia and how long they will be there to monitor, ODIHR said it might not even send observers. 

The OSCE actually did not send observers to Russia for the parliamentary elections in December because it was only allowed to send 70 observers.  For the upcoming presidential election, Russia again is limiting OSCE to 70 observers, a significant reduction from the 400 who were allowed to monitor the 2004 presidential election.

The OSCE said restrictions will not allow it enough time in Russia to effectively monitor the fairness of either the election campaign or Russian media coverage, a concern since the media in Russia is predominately Kremlin-controlled.

In response to criticism over observer restrictions, Russian Central Elections Commission head Vladimir Churov, declared that the OSCE was showing a “lack of respect.”

“We have done everything to make the work of the mission easier, but we are not forcing anyone to come.  We have invited them, this has been done,” he said during an interview on Russian radio.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin met with members of the Federal Security Service, where he declared that Russia would not allow outside countries to interfere with its presidential elections.

“Our country is a sovereign state and we will not allow the conduct of the election campaign to be corrected by anyone from outside,” he said.

In addition, he said it is the goal of the state to ensure that the elections are democratic and allow Russian citizens “to make a free and deliberate choice.”

For more information, please see:

Moscow News - Russian Elections Chief Slams OSCE - 31 January 2008

Reuters - EU urges Russia to remove limits on poll observers - 31 January 2008

BBC - OSCE lambasts Russia poll curbs - 30 January 2008

Yahoo News (AP) - Putin: No foreign meddling in election - 30 January 2008

BRIEF: Suspected Mastermind Of Madrid Bombing Detained

MADRID, Spain - Abdelilah Hriz, a suspected mastermind in the 2004 Madrid train attack, was arrested by Moroccan authorities in Rabat on Sunday.  The BBC reports that this arrest marks the first time that Moroccan authorities have arrested a suspect for a crime committed in another country.  Because of no extradition laws between Spain and Morocco, Hriz has since been able to avoid justice. 

Hriz is expected to stand trial in Morocco for his role in the attack. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Key Madrid bombs suspect detained - 29 January 2008

UPDATE: Zoe’s Ark Workers Sentenced to Jail

PARIS, France – Six Zoe’s Ark charity workers received an eight year prison sentence on Monday for attempting to kidnap 103 children from Chad in October.

They were originally sentenced last month in Chad to eight years hard labor, but were allowed to serve out their time in France.

The workers claim they were rescuing orphans from Darfur and bringing them back to France for adoption.

No word yet on whether they will appeal.

For more information, please see:

BBC - French jail terms for Chad kidnap - 28 January 2008

CNN - Chad kidnappers jailed for 8 years - 28 January 2008

Impunity Watch - French Charity in Hot Water Over Chad Adoption Plan - 29 October 2007

UPDATE: Journalists Covering Ingushetia Protests Detained, Beaten

By Brent Surgeoner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

NAZRAN, Russia – A journalist and photographer were detained and allegedly abused by police officers while covering a protest in the Russian republic of Ingushetia over the weekend.

Mustafa Kirkiyev, a reporter for Zhizn newspaper and Said-Khussein Tsarnayev, a freelance photographer were charged with setting fire to the Hotel Serdalo, which they happened to be photographing from their vehicle at the time of their arrest.

According to Kirkiyev, the police pulled them out of their car and began unleashing blows.  He suffered injuries from the beating that required medical attention from his cell later that evening.

Reuters reports that the two appeared in court and received fines for breaching public order, after which the judge ordered them set free.  However, police did not release them.

Other journalists and human rights activists were also detained during the protest, including Radio Free Europe journalist Danila Galperovich, two correspondents from Russian radio entity Ekho Moskvy, Roman Plyussov and Vladimir Varfolomeyez, and two activists from human rights group Memorial, Yekaterina Sokiriaskaya and Timur Akiyev.

Galperovich said that he was trying to find out information on casualties when he was arrested.  “When I introduced myself to the police officers, they, without any comment, took away all my belongings and detained me . . .,” he said.

Ingushetia deputy state prosecutor Genali Merjuyev denied that any journalists had been arrested on Saturday.  Rather, he said the journalists were escorted out of an anti-terrorist operation to a nearby building to confirm their identities.

After twenty hours in detention, the majority of journalists were escorted by armed interior ministry troops to the North Ossetia border.

The protests were staged by opponents of local leader Marat Zyazikov over allegations of election rigging in December’s parliamentary elections.  The pro-Kremlin United Russia received 99 percent of the vote in that election.

The protest turned violent quickly after the 1,000 who gathered were denied access to the central square by riot police.  In response, protestors attacked police with stones and Molotov cocktails.

After firing warning shots, the police dispersed the crowd with tear gas, handguns, and brute force.

Violence has been escalating in recent months in the Muslim region of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.  Russian forces have been seeking to rid the region of Islamic militants.  Locals claim Russian forces have been carrying out abductions, beatings and arrests throughout the region.

Journalists have complained of news bans and intimidation in the area.

On January 25, areas of Ingushetia were declared “counterterrorism zones” by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS), thereby allowing forces to take advantage of emergency powers.

For more information, please see:

Reporters Without Borders - Russia: several journalists held illegally by police in Ingushetia - 28 January 2008

Reuters - Russian police beat, detain journalists in Ingushetia - 27 January 2008

Radio Free Europe - Russia: Security Forces Violently Disperse Protest In Ingushetia - 26 January 2008

Impunity Watch - BRIEF: Violence Erupts in Ingushetia - 26 January 2008

Opposition Candidate Kasyanov Barred From Russian Presidential Election

By Brent Surgeoner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Mikhail Kasyanov, opposition candidate and loud critic of President Vladimir Putin, was barred from the presidential election on Sunday after Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) ruled that an excessive amount of signatures on his nomination petition were forged.

Kasyanov, who once served as Putin’s prime minister, denied all allegations of forgery.  Outraged at the CEC’s ruling, he was quoted as saying “the country has finally gone on the slippery slope to totalitarianism.”

In Russia, any candidate who is not nominated by a political party which has representatives in the State Duma is required to submit a nomination petition with 2 million signatures.  If more than 5% of the signatures are forged, the candidate will be barred from the election.

According to the CEC, more than 80,000 of Kasyanov’s signatures, or greater than 13%, were deemed forged.

As a result, not only has Kasyanov been barred from the election, but the Prosecutor General’s office is launching a forgery investigation against him.  A conviction for forgery could carry a 5-year prison sentence.

Kasyanov could appeal the CEC’s finding, although many question what chance he even had in the election as he was only polling around 1%.

The favored candidate is Putin-backed Dmitry Medvedev who has asked Putin to be prime minister if victorious in March.

The three other candidates include Gennady Zyuganov of the Communist Party, ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Andrei Bogdanov of the obscure Democratic Party.

Zyuganov has already considered backing out of the election over frustration with the state-run media, which he says provides unequal election coverage.  Zyuganov has also raised suspicions as to how candidate Bogdanov raised 2 million signatures considering he only polls at 0.2%.

According to the Washington Post, Bogdanov is quietly receiving support from the Kremlin, in an attempt to make the race look competitive while at the same time limiting harsh criticism against Medvedev.

Many have argued that Kasyanov was targeted by the Kremlin because his loud criticism against Putin created an atmosphere of unpredictability about the campaign. 

“No one would know in advance what he might want to say in a live TV broadcast,” argued political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin.
Kasyanov was also the only liberal in the election campaign after Gary Kasparov was allegedly forced out by the Kremlin.

The election is set for March 2.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo (AP) - Kremlin critic barred from election - 27 January 2008

BBC - Kasyanov barred from Russian poll - 27 January 2008

CNN International - Kremlin critic barred from election - 27 January 2008

Washington Post - Putin Rival Barred From Presidential Election - 27 January 2008

BRIEF: Violence Erupts in Ingushetia

INGUSHETIA, Russia - Police clashed with protesters today in Ingushetia when they threw stones and set fire to several buildings during an anti-government rally.  Many of the protesters were angry about alleged vote-rigging and unfair government policies.  The demonstration had been banned by Russia's security services in response to a number of recent attacks and abductions. 

The region suffers from chaos that is likely related to growing unrest in nearby Chechnya. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Clashes erupt at Ingushetia rally - 26 January 2008

Kosovo's Independence Just Days Away

by Jason Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Kosovo's Prime Minister Hasim Thaci reported on Thursday that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was "an issue of days", and that Kosovo was ready and would declare independence very soon.  Yet he also commented that the delay was because of procedures and consultations that needed to be respected before an exact date could be set.  European diplomats, however, predict that Kosovars will probably have to wait at least another month because of coordinating efforts taking place with the European Union and the United States. 

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999 when a bitter dispute over the province's status began between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population and the Serbian government.  Serbia, along with Russia, has vigorously opposed Kosovo's independence, arguing that the Kosovan territory is part of the Serbian heartland.  The United States, along with the EU's 27-member states, continue to support Kosovo in its bid for independence.

Russia's ambassador to NATO urged Serbia to stand up to the Western powers, believing that a split in the Serbian province could result in a "pandora's box" that would destabilize the region.  Perhaps in an effort to pacify Belgrade, the EU is taking steps toward a Stabilization and Association Agreeement (SAA) with Serbia that might speed up its admission into the European Union.  Nevertheless, European leaders will still expect Serbia to comply with efforts to bring war criminals like Ratko Mladic to justice at the U.N. War Crimes Court in The Hague, Netherlands. 

For this reason, Serbia's presidential election is critical.  If Tomislav Nikolic defeats incumbent Boris Tadic for the presidency, his nationalist government is not expected to step up efforts in compliance with the EU's war crimes mandate.  This could further delay Serbia's admission into the EU, and even potentially disrupt democracy in the region. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Kosovo's independence 'in days' - 24 January 2008

International Herald Tribune - Prime Minister says Kosovo independence an "issue of days" - 24 January 2008

Yahoo (AFP) - Kosovo's independence a matter of days away: Thaci - 24 January 2008

BRIEF: Belgium Guilty of Abusing Asylum Seekers, Pays Damages

STRASBOURG, France – Two Palestinian asylum seekers were awarded $21,861 by the European Court of Human Rights for the inhuman and degrading treatment they faced during detention in Belgium.

The two men came to Belgium in 2002 on a path from Lebanon to Britain where they ultimately planned to seek political asylum.

After being denied entry into Belgium they awaited deportation in a Brussels detention center for 10 days.  They alleged that during a period of their detention they had no access to food, drink or beds and were subject to police beatings.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo (AP) - EU court: Asylum seekers badly treated - 24 January 2008

Russia Launches Missiles In Atlantic Exercise

by Jason Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia - Russian naval and air forces converged yesterday at the Bay of Biscay in what is said to be the country's largest military exercise since the Soviet era.  Offering a display of military might, two Tu-160 long range bombers test-fired tactical air missiles off the coast of France and Spain.  The exercise was planned and the French Defense Ministry was informed in advance of the operation.

Reuters reports that Russian bombers joined aircraft carriers, submarine hunters, and battleships for these exercises in the Atlantic.  Forty-seven aircraft and eleven ships participated.  Russia's Air Force commander, Alexander Drobyshevsky, told the Interfax news agency that, "maneuvers were being carried out in strict accordance with international rules in neutral waters." 

The exercise is viewed by some as one of Putin's final attempts to demonstrate Russia's growing military might during his presidency.  During the last several years, he has made efforts to revive international respect for his armed forces by boosting military spending, upgrading nuclear attack forces, and engaging in long-range bombing missions.  Nevertheless, Russia's military display is said to be largely symbolic.  Its military spending is quite a bit lower than China, Britain, France, and the United States, and its armed forces still haven't recovered from the Soviet collapse in the 1990's. 

Putin, however, claims that his military upgrade is necessary in light of NATO's build-up of forces close to the Russian border.  The demonstration also comes as a response to a U.S. plan to build a missile defense system in Europe.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Russia fires missiles off France - 23 January 2008

Shanghai Daily - Russian bombers to test-fire missiles off France and Spain - 23 January 2008

Yahoo (Reuters) - Russia to test-fire missiles in Atlantic - 22 January 2008

BRIEF: FARC Rebels To Remain On EU Terror List

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - Despite calls from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for the EU to remove Columbia's FARC rebels from its list of recognized terrorist organizations, the EU refuses to budge in its position.  The BBC reports that FARC will remain classified as an EU terrorist group.

FARC is believed to be holding more than 700 captives in inhumane conditions.  Efforts are underway to free these hostages, some of whom have been held in captivity for several years. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - EU to keep FARC on 'terror list' - 22 January 2008