Repressions are part of fight for power in the Caucasus, human rights activists state

On October 30, on the Memory Day of victims of political repressions, the Moscow Independent Press Centre held a roundtable of human rights organizations on the topic "Political Persecutions in Present-Day Russia."

Giving his characterization of the legislative basis of current political persecutions, Lev Levinson, expert of the Institute of Human Rights, noted that the legislation of recent years has been purposefully adapted to the needs of the ruling regime. The main directions in which political charges are presented today are anti-extremism and anti-terrorism. The 2002 Law on Counteraction Extremist Activities has revived "under a new sign-board" the notorious Article 58 of the former Soviet Criminal Code. Its broad and indefinite interpretation of extremism has set up an unlimited space for judicial voluntarism.

Lev Levinson also characterized non-legal aspects of the current conduct of judicial proceedings. Custody has stopped to be an exclusive measure - a person, just suspected of terrorism, may be kept under guard for up to 30 days. No preventive measures exist to extinct tortures. This year, the justice in absentia was returned into judicial practice "in relation to suspects of grave and especially grave crimes," and such a doubtful novelty like involvement of anonymous witnesses in the process has been introduced.

During the second session of the roundtable, its participants gave a brief characterization of certain sections of the spectrum of political repressions in modern Russia. 

Valentin Gefter enumerated the facts of prosecution of political radicals (on the one hand, "radicals of action" - National Bolsheviks, etc.; on the other hand, authors of radical utterances and publications).

Gregory Shvedov, editor-in-chief of the Internet-media "Caucasian Knot," dealt with the forms of political repressions in the North Caucasus Republics, stressing that they are all closely integrated into the race for power of various political and religious groupings inside these Republics.

Elena Ryabinina, Manager of the Program "Aid to Political Refugees from Central Asia" of the Committee "Civil Assistance," told about the cases framed up against Moslems in the territory of the Russian Federation, first of all, against the members of the Islamic Party "Hizb-ut Takhrir," which had been recognized, with no valid grounds, by the RF Supreme Soviet to be an extremist organization, and about extradition to Uzbekistan of the refugees accused by Karimov's regime of involvement in Andizhan events in May 2005.

Alexei Simonov, Director of the "Glasnost Defence Fund," stated that liquidation of independent journalism in the Russian Federation has transited to a new quality level: "a couple of hundreds of sane journalists" remain, but none of them has access to TV channels - the only really public source of information.

The debates were summed up by Sergey Kovalev, Chairman of the Russian "Memorial": "Our country has no policy, it has operative situation. The major concern of the power is to ensure its own safety."