The Agora Interregional Human Rights Association is a union of several dozen human rights lawyers who, since 2005, have been conducting high-profile cases of arbitrariness by the authorities in most regions of Russia.
Over the past 5 years, the lawyers of the association have achieved the termination of the criminal prosecution of the head of the Samara organization “In defense of the rights of voters “Golos”, the director of the Trans-Baikal Human Rights Center Vitaly Cherkasov, the leader of the Krasnodar organization “Ethnika” Anastasia Denisova, journalists from “Novaya Gazeta” and other journalists and human rights activists, and also anarchists, anti-fascists and bloggers. Today, the association's lawyers defend those accused of "pogrom" of the administration of Khimki and activists of the art group "Voina".
The association defended the interests of the Novorossiysk Committee for Human Rights, the Movement for Nuclear Security, the Chelyabinsk organization "Planet of Hopes", achieved a guilty verdict and real imprisonment for the attackers on human rights activists Vadim Karastelev in Novorossiysk and Alexei Suslikov in Saratov, recognition of illegal police search of human rights activist Denis Fyodorov from Cheboksary and compensation for non-pecuniary damage for an illegal search of the lawyer Rustem Valiullin from Izhevsk.
The association deals with critical cases of illegal actions of representatives government agencies associated with the arbitrariness of the police, army officers and prison staff. Today, in the Chelyabinsk Regional Court, the lawyers of the association represent the interests of 6 injured convicts, including relatives of the victims, at the hands of 18 employees of the prison department.
Chairman of the Association - PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Master of Public Administration
A branch of the human rights association "Agora" opened in Moscow
From today, any resident of the capital who is faced with illegal actions by representatives of state bodies will be able to receive a qualified legal assistance. Priority areas for the work of human rights activists in Moscow are the arbitrariness of the police, the rights of patients, violations of human rights in the army, pre-trial detention centers, hospitals, the protection of civil activists and journalists from illegal criminal prosecution and pressure.
“We do business in almost all regions of Russia, including the capital. In several of them we have permanent partners. In the year of our fifth anniversary, we are starting more intensive work in Moscow, - says the chairman of the Agora Interregional Human Rights Association, Candidate of Law, Associate Professor Pavel Chikov. - Here the concentration of representatives of power per capita is the highest, arbitrariness is the most. I am glad that the sensitivity of Muscovites to him is noticeably higher. I am sure that lawyers will not be left without work.”
link: http://www.ikd.ru/node/15402
Minus zero
For 10 years, not a single state institution has remained in Russia that has not discredited itself. It is necessary to change immediately, everywhere and radically. The purge of Putin's legacy must be thorough and ensure the irreversibility of change.
Read in full: http://www.gazeta.ru/comments/2012/01/31_a_3980785.shtml
AGORA Association prepared a report on DDoS attacks
The Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations AGORA has prepared a report on hacker attacks. According to the association, 25 Internet resources were attacked on election day. The authors of the report believe that cyber warfare has become an instrument of political struggle.
The report notes that from the beginning of 2008 to the fall of 2011, 17 cases of DDoS attacks were recorded on social and political portals, including the sites of Novaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Kommersant and FINAM FM. “Monitoring of violations of Internet freedom has so far shown that the most common type of repression that independent Internet resources are subjected to is administrative and criminal prosecution, civil lawsuits,” the report says. “However, these mechanisms, which are good for constant intimidation and pressure, are not suitable in cases where decisions need to be made quickly, and the effect is needed instantaneously. A hacker attack for these purposes is what is needed,” the authors of the report believe.
In total, according to AGORA, on election day and the previous days, 25 federal and regional Internet resources were attacked, the total audience of which in November current year amounted to more than 7 million visitors (see Kommersant of December 5). Head of the Department of New Media and Communication Theory of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University Ivan Zasursky called the situation with hacker attacks “catastrophic”.
“Many Internet resources do not work: this mobilizes people, not only politically active, but also those who simply love to read news on the Internet.” “I am absolutely convinced that the decision to attack is not made at the meeting between Medvedev and Putin. We are dealing with that part of the system that is not configured for feedback, but works in the logic of repression. Perhaps, in the context of the Internet, we are dealing with the security forces,” Mr. Zasursky said.
link: http://www.ryzkov.ru/look_new. php?id=14104
Human Rights Association "Agora" will help the victims of the police cleansing in the Tyumen region
Lawyers of the human rights association "Agora" appealed to the Investigative Committee with statements on the recognition of the victims of the victims during the police sweep in the city of Zavodoukovsk, Tyumen Region. This was announced on the radio station "Echo of Moscow" by the head of the organization Pavel Chikov.
link: http://www.echomsk.spb.ru/news/politika
The tax authorities returned to the AGORA association illegally collected one million rubles
Today, the Interdistrict Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service of Russia No. 14 for Tatarstan transferred 987 thousand 984 rubles 24 kopecks to the account of the Interregional Human Rights Association AGORA.
In March 2010, the tax authorities collected this amount from human rights activists as an alleged income tax on donations received. In July 2011, in the case of the Association, the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia finally ruled that Russian NGOs should not pay income tax on donations received from foreign donors.
link: http://www.parkgagarina.ru/ Obschestvo
Response of the Agora Association to the publication of RIA "New Region" about "grant eaters"
The Agora Interregional Human Rights Association consistently defends freedom of speech and the independence of the Internet in Russia, defends the right of authors to opinions and value judgments, representing the interests of individual journalists, bloggers, public figures (Oleg Kashin, Alexei Navalny, Viktor Shenderovich, Artemy Troitsky, Marat Gelman ), and media editorial offices (Novaya Gazeta, IA VolgaInform).
link: http://ombudsmanrf.org/2009-11-05-14
Pavel Chikov, Head of Agora Human Rights Association, Released Almost Immediately After Detention
Pavel Chikov, head of the Agora human rights association, was released almost immediately after his arrest. This was reported to Gazeta.Ru by Chikov himself. According to Chikov, a policeman approached him and asked him to show his documents and personal belongings for inspection, as he was allegedly passing through an orientation. After Chikov refused to do this without attesting witnesses and a protocol, he was offered to drive to the nearest police station.
“In the car, I started calling my lawyer and journalists. Then I realized that we were going in circles. He asked why. The policeman replied that they had changed their minds, they did not need such people. They offered to take me to the place where I was going,” Chikov said. The head of the Agora human rights association, Pavel Chikov, was detained by police in the center of Moscow, near the Arbat.
link:
The Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations AGORA is a union of groups of human rights lawyers who, since 2005, have been conducting high-profile cases of arbitrariness of the authorities in more than 40 regions of Russia. One of the main areas of activity is the protection of civil activists and non-governmental organizations from illegal actions of state bodies.
Established by the Kazan Human Rights Center, the Chita Human Rights Center and the Chuvash Human Rights Organization “Shield and Sword” on April 28, 2005, state registration dated September 12, 2005.
The AGORA Association represents the interests of the victims of the murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. AGORA is conducting lawsuits on the attack of neo-Nazis on an environmental camp near Angarsk in 2007, which resulted in the death of anti-fascist Ilya Borodaenko, as well as a group of cases on the confrontation between neo-Nazis and anti-fascists in Udmurtia.
Lawyers and lawyers cooperating with the AGORA Association have defended in courts the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, the Independent Psychiatric Association, the Russian Research Center for Human Rights, the Association for the Protection of Voters' Rights "GOLOS", as well as the Chelyabinsk organization "Planet of Hopes". The latter case set an important arbitration precedent in Russia when the court ruled that foreign grants and donations should not be taxed.
For 5 years of work in Russia, the lawyers of the Association and lawyers cooperating with it have achieved the termination of the criminal prosecution of the head of the Samara organization “In defense of the rights of voters “GOLOS” Lyudmila Kuzmina (twice), the editor-in-chief of the news agency “VolgaInform” Lyudmila Kotova, the director of the Center for Physical, Legal and Spiritual development of children and adolescents Tambov Vera Dementieva, leader national organization Mari El “Mari Ushem” by Nina Maksimova, editor of the Internet magazine “New Focus” Mikhail Afanasyev, parents of Kazan journalist Natalya Petrova, Tyumen anarchists Andrei Kutuzov and Rustem Fakhretdinov, Izhevsk anti-fascist Andrei Petrov, Transbaikal human rights activist Vitaly Cherkasov, blogger Dmitry Solovyov for statements in the address of policemen and FSB officers, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in Samara Sergei Kurt-Adzhiev, head of the Internet library Antikompromat Vladimir Pribylovsky.
The AGORA Association deals with critical cases of arbitrariness of representatives of state bodies related to police and army arbitrariness in Russia. In particular, the lawyers of the Association succeeded in convicting the commander of a military unit in one of the first cases in Russia involving the sale of a serviceman into slavery. Now AGORA represents the interests of several victims in the case of the shooting of people in a supermarket by police major Denis Yevsyukov, a police murder in the building of the Moscow railway station in St. Petersburg. Thanks to the Association, in 2009 10 servicemen were convicted for the death of Radmir Sagitov, a cadet of the elite Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School. The head of the NVVKU was fired.
AGORA works on projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and State University– Higher School of Economics, develops legislative initiatives to improve the situation of Russian NGOs, participates in hearings and studies of the Public Chamber of Russia and prepares methodological manuals for Rospotrebnadzor. According to the order of the Minister of Justice of Russia dated June 4, 2009 (No. 1625), the AGORA Association was included in the list of independent experts authorized to conduct an examination of draft regulatory legal acts and other documents for corruption.
The Association is strong with its regional partners. They have broad support from the local community. Partners of the Association conduct diverse activities in their regions, including visiting closed institutions, charity, legal support strategic affairs, active informing the public about the situation with the arbitrariness of the authorities in the region.
In 2009, the Association registered 308 reports of persecution of civil activists and non-governmental organizations in Russia from 43 regions of Russia. In particular, the statistics cover criminal prosecution, detentions, placement in closed institutions, searches, beatings and other illegal actions against civil activists in person and during various protests, inspections, lawsuits for liquidation and other punitive initiatives of regulatory authorities against non-governmental organizations in Russia . For comparison, in 2006 they recorded 118 such reports, in 2007 - 212, in 2008 - 144 cases. Thus, 2009 has become the most difficult year for the Russian "third sector" and civil activity in the last four years.
In 2007, the Interregional Group "Human Rights Network" and the AGORA Association released a CD "Safe Route" for civil activists in Russia. The disc contains a comprehensive study on the problem of pressure on human rights defenders in Russia.
At the end of 2008, the AGORA Association and the Human Rights Resource Center presented the book “Non-Governmental. Decade of Survival. It collects and presents in an accessible form an analysis of the existing law enforcement and judicial practice on the issues of registration and control of NGOs. The study was based on over 250 cases, lawsuits of the justice authorities and decisions of courts of general jurisdiction on the liquidation and termination of the activities of NGOs.
Contacts of the Interregional Human Rights Association "AGORA":
"AGORA"(full official name - Interregional Association of Human Rights public associations"AGORA") is an association of human rights lawyers from more than 40 regions of Russia who provide free legal assistance and engage in legal education.
Over the past few years, Agora’s lawyers have defended the defendants in the most resonant cases: they worked in courts in the Bolotnaya case, represented the interests of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, accused of terrorism, who was arrested for setting fire to the door of the FSB building on Lubyanka by artist Pyotr Pavlensky.
Story
The association started its activity in 2005. Established by the Kazan Human Rights Center, the Chita Human Rights Center and the Chuvash Human Rights Organization "Shield and Sword" on April 28, 2005, state registration - September 12, 2005.
In 2013, the prosecutor's office demanded that the Association register as a foreign agent. According to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Tatarstan, Agora is involved in political activities using funds received from the US State Department. Agora claims that this information is false and denies receiving funds from the US State Department, and regards the actions of the prosecutor's office as "unreasonable interference in the work of a human rights organization and revenge for a principled position in defending the rights and legitimate interests of non-governmental organizations in Russia" On July 21, 2014, the organization was included in the register of foreign agents.
Management
Key representatives:
- Chairman - Guzel Davletshina - lawyer.
Activity
The main areas of work are the protection of Russians, including civil activists, journalists, bloggers, as well as non-governmental organizations, from illegal actions of state bodies.
Affairs
Lawyers of the Association work on the cases of journalists Oleg Kashin (Kommersant) and Yevgeny Shipilov (Gazeta.Ru) - in cases of beating them, blogger Maxim Efimov in the case of placing him in a psychiatric hospital for publishing on the Internet, art groups " War ", gallery owner Marat Gelman, music critic Artemy Troitsky, author of the youth "Monsters", artist Artyom Loskutov.
Lawyers of the Association and lawyers cooperating with it achieved the termination of the criminal prosecution of the head of the Samara Association non-profit organizations "In defense of right voters "GOLOS"" Lyudmila Kuzmina, editor-in-chief of IA "VolgaInform" Lyudmila Kotova, director of the Center for Physical, Legal and Spiritual Development of Children and Adolescents Tambov Vera Dementieva, leader of the national Mari organization "Mariyushem" Nina Maksimova, editor of the online magazine "New Focus" Mikhail Afanasyev, parents of Kazan journalist Natalya Petrova, Tyumen anarchists Andrei Kutuzov and Rustem Fakhretdinov, Izhevsk anti-fascist Andrei Petrov, Transbaikal human rights activist Vitaly Cherkasov, blogger Dmitry Solovyov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in Samara Sergey Kurt-Adzhiev, head of the Antikompromat Internet library Vladimir Pribylovsky, leader of the Krasnodar human rights organization ETnIKA Anastasia Denisova, chairman of the Tambov human rights center Lidia Rybina, the chief accountant of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Tatarstan, the anti-fascist journalist of the Collective Action Institute Aleksey Gaskarov in the case of the attack on the administration of Khimki, the editor-in-chief of Vechernaya Tyumen Vladimir Efimov. The Association also helped Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin in court on the suit of the head of Rosmolodezh Vasily Yakemenko. As a result , the claims against the journalist were denied .
The association defended the interests of the Union committees soldier mothers of Russia, the Independent psychiatric association, the Russian Research Center for Human Rights, the Association to protect the rights voters GOLOS , the Novorossiysk committee on human rights , the Movement for Nuclear Security guilty verdict and real imprisonment for those who attacked human rights activists Vadim Karastelev in Novorossiysk and Aleksey Suslikov in Saratov, recognition of illegal police search at the home of human rights activist Denis Fedorov from Cheboksary and compensation for non-pecuniary damage for an illegal search at the lawyer Rustem Valiullin from Izhevsk.
The association deals with critical cases of illegal actions of representatives of state bodies related to the arbitrariness of the police, army officers and prison staff. In particular, the lawyers of the Association succeeded in convicting the commander of a military unit in one of the first cases in Russia involving the sale of a serviceman into slavery. Thanks to the Association, 10 servicemen were convicted for the death of Radmir Sagitov, a cadet of the elite Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School. The head of the NVVKU was fired, the family of the deceased received an unprecedented compensation for such cases in the amount of 3.5 million rubles. Human rights activists achieved a guilty verdict against the head of the Main Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for Chelyabinsk region Vladimir Zhidkov and his 17 subordinates in the case of the murder of convicts in colony No. 1 of Kopeysk.
The reaction of state bodies
The Association works on projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the State University - Higher School of Economics, develops legislative initiatives to improve the situation of Russian NGOs, participates in hearings and studies of the Public Chamber of Russia, prepares methodological manuals for Rospotrebnadzor.
I can tell you what AGORA and the Kazan Human Rights Center do - they protect citizens from the lawlessness of law enforcement officers. They repeatedly engaged in torture in the police, they were engaged in ways to develop various methods of how people can protect themselves from their lack of rights when faced with law enforcement agencies. According to the materials of the Kazan Human Rights Center, there was more than one criminal case against police officers who mocked the population. "AGORA" in general now partially represents the interests of the victims of Major Evsyukov, who, as you know, shot 9 people with a pistol.
As is known from the documents of the case, 2 people were killed, more than 20 received various injuries.
Books
In 2008, the Association and the Human Rights Resource Center presented the book Akhmetgaliev R.Kh., Kanevskaya M.A., Maksimov V.A., Chikov P.V. Non-governmental. Decade survival. - Kazan: Fatherland, 2008. - 244 p. - ISBN 978-5-9222-0244-2.. It collects and presents in an accessible form an analysis of the existing law enforcement and judicial practice on the issues of registration and control of NGOs. The study was based on over 250 cases, lawsuits of the justice authorities and decisions of courts of general jurisdiction on the liquidation and termination of the activities of NGOs.
In 2012, the Association published a book Chikov P.V., Akhmetgaliev R.Kh., Kolbasin D.A. Methodology for holding public events: distribution of roles, communication with journalists, defense. - Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations "AGORA", 2012. - 88 p. - ISBN 978-5-91940-216-9..
Analytics
Criticism
According to Arina Morokova, correspondent of the New Region agency, voiced in December 2011, the Association receives funding from American funds unfriendly to Russia, such as the Foundation Support Democracy, the MacArthur Foundation and. She also suggests that the Association, through its activities to support HIV-positive Russians, is lobbying for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy. In addition, the Association is accused of violations of the law, allegedly revealed by the Department for Tax Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan, in particular:
- non-payment of income tax on donations received,
- participation in the laundering of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism,
- purchase of real estate in the center of Kazan with funds whose origin is unknown.
The Association on the same day issued a refutation of this material, in particular, drawing attention to the facts that:
1) back in July 2011, all the claims of the tax service were declared illegal by the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation;
3) The AGORA Association does not own real estate, and the building where the Association's lawyers work belongs to the Kazan Human Rights Center, which in 2008 was the only one in Europe that received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation award for its purchase.
4) The Association does not lobby for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy.
In December 2011, the Department of the FSKN RF in Moscow, in connection with the appeal of the State Duma deputy Igor Arkhipov to conduct an audit of the compliance of the activities of the human rights association "AGORA" with the norms of the current legislation, conducted an appropriate audit. “According to the results of the audit, it was revealed that the Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations “AGORA” is not engaged in promoting the legalization of drugs and the introduction of substitution therapy (“methadone programs”),” the head of the Federal Drug Control Service said in a response to the results of the audit to the Deputy Prosecutor of Moscow V. V. Rosinsky RF in Moscow, Police Lieutenant General V. K. Davydov.
Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of the Novy Region agency, Yulia Shatova, the day after the appearance of Arina Morokova's material, apologized to the AGORA Association for this publication: “I apologize to you for yesterday's publication. At the moment, an official investigation is being held with the journalist who wrote this material. Once again, I apologize for the incorrect statements made to you. Clearly there has been a breach of trust." As a result, Novy Region published a refutation of Arina Morokova's text.
liquidation
On February 10, 2016, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, which demanded the liquidation of Agora. According to the ministry, the organization violated the law on NGOs - foreign agents: it tried to shape public opinion, influence state policy, refused to be included in the register of foreign agents and even tried to get out of it after being entered there forcibly.
According to the lawyer of the organization, Ramil Akhmetgaliev, since its inception, Agora has been carrying out generally useful activities, has never organized public events, has not provided assistance to political parties and politicians, and has not participated in any form in the electoral processes. The lawyer said that in the statement of claim, the Ministry of Justice does not give a single argument in favor of the thesis that Agora threatens national security, the foundations of the constitutional order, the life and health of other citizens, and the violations committed by it are irreparable.
Immediately after the announcement of the decision of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, lawyer Akhmetgaliev stated: “We consider the forced liquidation of the Association for its human rights activities as recognition of the effectiveness of its activities, extreme sensitivity for the authorities and an unequivocal repressive step demonstrating the true goals of state policy towards non-governmental organizations in Russia.”
Former leader"Agoras" Pavel Chikov (headed the Association until October 2015) stated in his Facebook account that the work of lawyers and lawyers in cases of violation of human rights will be continued within the Agora International Human Rights Group, created in autumn 2015, and the Agora Association itself "in fact has been preserved for a long time. So the Ministry of Justice is literally at war with a ghost. The decision of the court of Tatarstan, Chikov said, will be appealed to the Supreme court of Russia.
Notes
- One of the most active human rights organizations was liquidated in Russia. RBC. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- Kommersant-Gazeta - "Agore" gave political conclusion. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
- The prosecutor's office demands to recognize Agora as a foreign agent // City portal e-kazan.ru, 05.06.2012
"AGORA"(full official name - Interregional Association of Human Rights Public Associations "AGORA") is an association of human rights lawyers from more than 40 regions of Russia who provide free legal assistance and engage in legal education.
Over the past few years, Agora’s lawyers have defended the defendants in the most resonant cases: they worked in courts in the Bolotnaya case, represented the interests of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, accused of terrorism, who was arrested for setting fire to the door of the FSB building on Lubyanka by artist Pyotr Pavlensky.
Story
The association started its activity in 2005 . Established by the Kazan Human Rights Center, the Chita Human Rights Center and the Chuvash human rights organization "Shield and Sword" on April 28, 2005, state registration - September 12, 2005.
In 2013, the prosecutor's office required the Association to register as a foreign agent. According to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Tatarstan, Agora is involved in political activities using funds received from the US State Department. Agora claims that this information is false and denies receiving funds from the US State Department, and regards the actions of the prosecutor's office as "unreasonable interference in the work of a human rights organization and revenge for a principled position in defending the rights and legitimate interests of non-governmental organizations in Russia" On July 21, 2014, the organization was included in the register of foreign agents.
Management
Key representatives:
- Chairman - Guzel Davletshina - lawyer.
Activity
The main areas of work are the protection of Russians, including civil activists, journalists, bloggers, as well as non-governmental organizations, from illegal actions of state bodies.
Affairs
Lawyers of the Association work on the cases of journalists Oleg Kashin (“Kommersant”) and Yevgeny Shipilov (“Gazeta.Ru”) - on cases of beating them, blogger Maxim Yefimov on the case of placing him in a psychiatric hospital for publishing on the Internet, an art group " War", gallery owner Marat Gelman, music critic Artemy Troitsky, author of the youth "Monsters", artist Artyom Loskutov.
Lawyers of the Association and lawyers cooperating with it achieved the termination of the criminal prosecution of the head of the Samara Association of non-profit organizations "In defense of the rights of voters" VOICE "" Lyudmila Kuzmina, editor-in-chief of the news agency "VolgaInform" Lyudmila Kotova, director of the Center for Physical, Legal and Spiritual Development of Children and Adolescents Vera Tambov Dementieva, leader of the national Mari organization "Mari Ushem" Nina Maksimova, editor of the online magazine "New Focus" Mikhail Afanasyev, parents of Kazan journalist Natalya Petrova, Tyumen anarchists Andrei Kutuzov and Rustem Fakhretdinov, Izhevsk anti-fascist Andrei Petrov, Transbaikal human rights activist Vitaly Cherkasov, blogger Dmitry Solovyov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in Samara Sergey Kurt-Adzhiev, head of the Internet library Antikompromat Vladimir Pribylovsky, leader of the Krasnodar human rights organization ETnIKA Anastasia Denisova, chairman of the Tambov Human Rights Center Lid and Rybina, the chief accountant of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Tatarstan, the anti-fascist journalist of the Collective Action Institute Alexei Gaskarov in the case of the attack on the administration of Khimki, the editor-in-chief of Vechernaya Tyumen Vladimir Efimov. The Association also helped Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin in court on the suit of the head of Rosmolodezh Vasily Yakemenko. As a result , the claims against the journalist were denied .
The Association defended the interests of the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, the Independent Psychiatric Association, the Russian Research Center for Human Rights, the Association for the Protection of Voters' Rights "VOICE", the Novorossiysk Committee for Human Rights, the "Movement for Nuclear Safety", the Chelyabinsk organization "Planet of Hope", achieved guilty verdict and real imprisonment for those who attacked human rights activists Vadim Karastelev in Novorossiysk and Aleksey Suslikov in Saratov, recognition of illegal police search at the home of human rights activist Denis Fedorov from Cheboksary and compensation for non-pecuniary damage for an illegal search at the lawyer Rustem Valiullin from Izhevsk.
The association deals with critical cases of illegal actions of representatives of state bodies related to the arbitrariness of the police, army officers and prison staff. In particular, the lawyers of the Association succeeded in convicting the commander of a military unit in one of the first cases in Russia involving the sale of a serviceman into slavery. Thanks to the Association, 10 servicemen were convicted for the death of Radmir Sagitov, a cadet of the elite Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School. The head of the NVVKU was fired, the family of the deceased received an unprecedented compensation for such cases in the amount of 3.5 million rubles. Human rights activists have secured a guilty verdict for Vladimir Zhidkov, head of the Main Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk region, and his 17 subordinates in the case of the murder of convicts in colony No. 1 of Kopeisk.
The reaction of state bodies
The Association works on projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the State University - Higher School of Economics, develops legislative initiatives to improve the situation of Russian NGOs, participates in hearings and studies of the Public Chamber of Russia, prepares methodological manuals for Rospotrebnadzor.
I can tell you what AGORA and the Kazan Human Rights Center do - they protect citizens from the lawlessness of law enforcement officers. They repeatedly engaged in torture in the police, they were engaged in ways to develop various methods of how people can protect themselves from their lack of rights when faced with law enforcement agencies. According to the materials of the Kazan Human Rights Center, there was more than one criminal case against police officers who mocked the population. "AGORA" in general now partially represents the interests of the victims of Major Evsyukov, who, as you know, shot 9 people with a pistol.
As is known from the documents of the case, 2 people were killed, more than 20 received various injuries.
Books
In 2008, the Association and the Human Rights Resource Center presented the book Akhmetgaliev R.Kh., Kanevskaya M.A., Maksimov V.A., Chikov P.V.. - Kazan: Fatherland, 2008. - 244 p. - ISBN 978-5-9222-0244-2.. It collects and presents in an accessible form an analysis of the existing law enforcement and judicial practice on the issues of registration and control of NGOs. The study was based on over 250 cases, lawsuits of the justice authorities and decisions of courts of general jurisdiction on the liquidation and termination of the activities of NGOs.
Criticism
According to the correspondent of the New Region agency Arina Morokova, voiced in December 2011, the Association receives funding from American funds unfriendly to Russia, such as the Democracy Support Fund, the MacArthur Foundation and. She also suggests that the Association, through its activities to support HIV-positive Russians, is lobbying for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy. In addition, the Association is accused of violations of the law, allegedly revealed by the Department for Tax Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan, in particular:
- non-payment of income tax on donations received,
- participation in the laundering of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism,
- purchase of real estate in the center of Kazan with funds whose origin is unknown.
The Association on the same day issued a refutation of this material, in particular, drawing attention to the facts that:
1) back in July 2011, all the claims of the tax service were declared illegal by the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation .;
3) The AGORA Association does not own real estate, and the building where the Association's lawyers work belongs to the Kazan Human Rights Center, which, back in 2008, was the only one in Europe that received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation award for its purchase.
4) The Association does not lobby for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy.
In December 2011, the Department of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation in Moscow, in connection with the appeal of the State Duma deputy Igor Arkhipov to conduct an audit of the compliance of the activities of the human rights association AGORA with the norms of the current legislation, conducted an appropriate audit. “According to the results of the audit, it was revealed that the Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations “AGORA” is not engaged in promoting the legalization of drugs and the introduction of substitution therapy (“methadone programs”),” the head of the Federal Drug Control Service said in a response to the results of the audit to the Deputy Prosecutor of Moscow V. V. Rosinsky RF in Moscow, Police Lieutenant General V. K. Davydov.
Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of the Novy Region agency, Yulia Shatova, the day after the appearance of Arina Morokova's material, apologized to the AGORA Association for this publication: “I apologize to you for yesterday's publication. At the moment, an official investigation is being held with the journalist who wrote this material. Once again, I apologize for the incorrect statements made to you. Clearly there has been a breach of trust." As a result, Novy Region published a refutation of Arina Morokova's text.
liquidation
On February 10, 2016, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, which demanded the liquidation of Agora. According to the ministry, the organization violated the law on non-profit organizations - foreign agents: it tried to shape public opinion, influence state policy, refused to be included in the register of foreign agents and even tried to get out of it after it was forcibly entered there.
According to the lawyer of the organization, Ramil Akhmetgaliev, since its inception, Agora has been carrying out generally useful activities, has never organized public events, has not provided assistance to political parties and politicians, and has not participated in any form in the electoral processes. The lawyer said that in the statement of claim, the Ministry of Justice does not give a single argument in favor of the thesis that Agora threatens national security, the foundations of the constitutional order, the life and health of other citizens, and the violations committed by it are irreparable.
Immediately after the announcement of the decision of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, lawyer Akhmetgaliev stated: “We consider the forced liquidation of the Association for its human rights activities as recognition of the effectiveness of its activities, extreme sensitivity for the authorities and an unambiguous repressive step demonstrating the true goals of state policy towards non-governmental organizations in Russia.”
The former head of Agora, Pavel Chikov (headed the Association until October 2015), stated in his Facebook account that the work of lawyers and lawyers in cases of violation of human rights will continue within the framework of the Agora International Human Rights Group, created in autumn 2015, and the Agora Association itself “In fact, it has been mothballed for a long time. So the Ministry of Justice is literally at war with a ghost. The Tatarstan court's decision, Chikov said, will be appealed to Russia's Supreme Court.
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Notes
- . RBC. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- . Retrieved April 30, 2013. .
- // City portal e-kazan.ru, 06/05/2012
- . Gazeta.ru (January 10, 2012). .
- . Vedomosti (February 28, 2012). .
- Kozlov, Vyacheslav. Moscow News (October 20, 2011). .
- . Gazeta.Ru (June 8, 2011). .
- . Novaya Gazeta (November 27, 2007). .
- Vladimir Tsybulsky. Lenta.Ru (June 21, 2011). .
- Vyacheslav Kozlov. Moscow News (June 21, 2011). .
- (unavailable link - ). Website of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. .
- . Website of the President of Russia (February 28, 2012). .
- . Echo of Moscow (July 20, 2009). .
- Ekaterina Sergatskova. "Ukrainian Truth", 23.02.2016
- Arina Morokova.. New Region - Moscow (December 21, 2011). Retrieved April 20, 2012. .
- Dmitry Kolbasin.. Open News Agency (December 21, 2011). Retrieved April 19, 2012. .
- Kirill Antonov.. Kommersant-Online (October 31, 2011). Retrieved April 19, 2012. .
- Dmitry Kolbasin. Novaya Gazeta (September 16, 2009). .
- . Regnum. .
- . New region (December 22, 2011). .
- Dmitry Kolbasin. Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health Protection and Social Justice (December 22, 2011). .
Links
- Blogger Alexei Navalny
- Magazine " Big city" (interview)
- Kommersant newspaper (interview)
- Newspaper "Novaya Gazeta". Leonid Nikitinsky
An excerpt characterizing the Agora (organization)
“Wouldn’t you like to see them alive if you were in his place?” Stella was immediately indignant.“You are right, as always,” I smiled at my friend.
We slowly “floated” along the silvery path, trying not to disturb someone else’s sadness and let everyone enjoy peace after everything experienced on this nightmarish day. The children slowly came to life, enthusiastically watching the marvelous landscapes floating past them. And only Arno was clearly very far from all of us, wandering in his, perhaps, very happy memory, which evoked on his refined, and such beautiful face, surprisingly warm and gentle smile...
You see, he must have loved them very much! And you say - early! .. Well, let's look! - Stella did not want to calm down.
“Okay, let it be your way,” I agreed easily, because now it seemed right to me too.
- Tell me, Arno, what did your wife look like? I started cautiously. “If it doesn’t hurt you too much to talk about it, of course.
He looked into my eyes very surprised, as if asking, how do I know that he had a wife? ..
- It just so happened that we saw, but only the very end ... It was so scary! Stella immediately added.
I was afraid that the transition from his marvelous dreams to a terrible reality turned out to be too cruel, but “the word is not a bird, you flew out - you won’t catch it,” it was too late to change something, and we just had to wait if he wanted to answer. To my great surprise, his face lit up even more with happiness, and he answered very affectionately:
- Oh, she was a real angel! .. She had such wonderful blond hair! .. And her eyes ... Blue and clear, like dew ... Oh, what a pity that you did not see her, my dear Michelle!. .
- Did you have another daughter? Stella asked cautiously.
- Daughter? Arno asked in surprise and, realizing what we saw, immediately added. - Oh no! It was her sister. She was only sixteen...
Such a frightening, such a terrible pain suddenly flashed in his eyes, that only now I suddenly realized how much this unfortunate person suffered! bright past and "erase" from his memory all the horror of that last terrible day, as far as his wounded and weakened soul allowed him to do this ...
We tried to find Michelle - for some reason it didn’t work ... Stella stared at me in surprise and asked quietly:
“Why can’t I find her, did she die here too?”
It seemed to me that something simply prevented us from finding her on this “floor” and I suggested Stella to look “higher”. We slipped mentally onto the Mental... and saw her at once... She really was amazingly beautiful - bright and clean, like a stream. And long golden hair scattered over her shoulders like a golden cloak... I have never seen such long and such beautiful hair! The girl was deeply thoughtful and sad, like many on the "floors" who lost their love, their relatives, or simply because they were alone...
- Hello, Michel! - Without wasting time, Stella immediately said. - And we have prepared a gift for you!
The woman smiled in surprise and kindly asked:
- Who are you girls?
But without answering her, Stella mentally called Arno...
I won't be able to tell what this meeting brought them... And it's not necessary. Such happiness cannot be put into words - they will fade ... It just didn’t exist, probably, at that moment happier people all over the world, and on all the "floors"! .. And we sincerely rejoiced with them, not forgetting those to whom they owed their happiness ... I think that both little Maria and our kind Luminary would be very happy seeing them now, and knowing that it was not in vain that they gave their lives for them ...
Stella suddenly became alarmed and disappeared somewhere. I followed her, as there was nothing more for us to do here ...
"And where did you all disappear to?" - Surprised, but very calmly, Maya greeted us with a question. “We already thought you left us for good. And where is our new friend? .. Has he really disappeared too? .. We thought he would take us with him ...
There was a problem... Where to put these unfortunate kids now - I had not the slightest idea. Stella looked at me, thinking the same thing, and desperately trying to find some way out.
- I figured it out! - already just like the "old" Stella, she happily clapped her hands. “We will make a joyful world for them in which they will exist. And there, look, they will meet someone ... Or someone good will pick them up.
“Don’t you think we should introduce them to someone here?” - trying to “more securely” attach lonely kids, I asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” the friend answered very seriously. – Think for yourself, because not all dead babies get this... And not everyone here, probably, has time to take care of. So it will be fair to the others if we just create a very nice home for them here until they find someone. After all, the three of them, it is easier for them. And others are alone ... I was also alone, I remember ...
And suddenly, apparently remembering that terrible time, she became confused and sad ... and somehow unprotected. Wanting to immediately bring her back, I mentally brought down a waterfall of incredible fantastic flowers on her ...
- Ouch! Stella laughed like a bell. - Well, what are you! .. Stop it!
- Stop being sad! I didn't give up. - We won, how much more needs to be done, and you are limp. Well, let's go arrange the children! ..
And then, quite unexpectedly, Arno appeared again. We stared at him in surprise... afraid to ask. I even had time to think - did something terrible happen again? .. But he looked "incredibly" happy, so I immediately discarded the stupid thought.
– And what are you doing here?!.. – Stella was sincerely surprised.
- Have you forgotten - I have to pick up the kids, I promised them.
- Where is Michelle? Are you not together?
- Well, why not together? Together, of course! I just promised ... Yes, and she always loved children. So we decided to stay together until a new life takes them.
- So it's wonderful! Stella rejoiced. And then she jumped to another one. - You're very happy, aren't you? Well, tell me, are you happy? She is so beautiful!!!..
Arno looked into our eyes for a long time and attentively, as if wanting, but not daring to say something. Then I finally decided...
– I cannot accept this happiness from you... It is not mine... This is wrong... I am not yet worthy of it.
- How can you not?! .. - Stella literally soared. - How can you not - how can you! .. Just try to refuse !!! Just look how beautiful she is! And you say you can't...
Arno smiled sadly, looking at the raging Stella. Then he embraced her affectionately and quietly, softly said:
“You brought me unspeakable happiness, and I brought you such terrible pain ... Forgive me, dear, if you ever can.” Sorry...
Stella smiled at him lightly and kindly, as if wanting to show that she perfectly understands everything, and that she forgives him everything, and that it was not his fault at all. Arno just nodded sadly and, pointing to the quietly waiting children, asked:
– Can I take them “upstairs” with me, do you think?
“Unfortunately, no,” Stella answered sadly. They can't go there, they stay here.
“Then we’ll stay too…” a gentle voice sounded. We will stay with them.
We turned around in surprise - it was Michelle. “That’s all done,” I thought to myself. And again, someone voluntarily sacrificed something, and again simple human goodness won ... I looked at Stella - the little girl smiled. Everything was fine again.
“Well, will you walk with me a little more?” Stella asked hopefully.
I had to go home for a long time, but I knew that I would not leave her now for anything and nodded my head in the affirmative ...
To be honest, I wasn’t in the mood to walk too much, because after everything that had happened, my condition was, let’s say, very, very “satisfactory ... But I also couldn’t leave Stella alone, therefore, for both to feel good, although If only we were “in the middle”, we decided not to go far, but just relax our almost boiling brains a little, and give rest to our pain-wracked hearts, enjoying the peace and quiet of the mental floor...
We slowly floated in a gentle silvery haze, completely relaxing our torn nervous system, and plunging into the stunning, incomparable local peace ... Suddenly Stella shouted enthusiastically:
- Blimey! Just look at what kind of beauty it is there! ..
I looked around and immediately understood what she was talking about...
It really was extraordinarily beautiful!.. As if someone, while playing, created a real sky-blue "crystal" kingdom!.. We were surprised to look at the incredibly huge, openwork ice flowers, powdered with light blue snowflakes; and bindings of sparkling ice trees, flashing with blue glare at the slightest movement of “crystal” foliage and reaching the height of our three-story house... glittering with tints of unprecedented silvery-blue hues...
What was it?! Who liked this cold color so much? ..
So far, for some reason, no one showed up anywhere, and no one expressed a great desire to meet us ... It was a little strange, since usually the owners of all these wondrous worlds were very hospitable and friendly, with the exception of only those who had just appeared on « floor” (that is, they had just died) and were not yet ready to communicate with the rest, or simply preferred to experience something purely personal and difficult alone.
– Who do you think lives in this strange world? – Stella asked in a whisper for some reason.
- Do you want to see? – unexpectedly for myself, I suggested.
I didn’t understand where all my fatigue had gone, and why I suddenly completely forgot the promise I made to myself a minute ago not to interfere in any, even the most incredible events, until tomorrow, or at least until I get at least a little rest. But, of course, it again worked my insatiable curiosity, which I have not yet learned to pacify, even when the real need arose ...
Therefore, trying, as far as my tormented heart allowed, to “turn off” and not think about our failed, sad and difficult day, I immediately plunged into the “new and unknown”, anticipating some unusual and exciting adventure...
We smoothly “slowed down” right at the very entrance to the stunning “icy” world, when suddenly a man appeared from behind a blue tree sparkling with sparks ... It was a very unusual girl - tall and slender, and very beautiful, she would have seemed quite young , almost if it were not for the eyes ... They shone with calm, bright sadness, and were deep, like a well with the purest spring water ... And in these marvelous eyes there was such wisdom that Stella and I had not been able to comprehend for a long time ... Not at all surprised by our appearance, the stranger smiled warmly and quietly asked:
- What do you, little ones?
We were just passing by and wanted to see your beauty. I'm sorry if I disturbed you…” I muttered, slightly embarrassed.
- Well, what are you! Come inside, it will certainly be more interesting there ... - waving her hand into the depths, the stranger smiled again.
We instantly slipped past her into the “palace”, unable to contain the curiosity rushing out, and already anticipating something very, very “interesting” for sure.
It turned out to be so stunning inside that Stella and I literally froze in a stupor, opening our mouths like starved one-day-old chicks, unable to utter a word ...
There was no, as they say, “floor” in the palace... Everything that was there hovered in the sparkling silvery air, creating the impression of sparkling infinity. Some fantastic "seats", similar to groups of sparkling dense clouds accumulated in heaps, swaying smoothly, hung in the air, then, condensing, then almost disappearing, as if attracting attention and inviting them to sit down ... Silvery "ice" flowers, glittering and shimmering, they decorated everything around, striking with a variety of shapes and patterns of the finest, almost jewelry-like petals. And somewhere very high in the “ceiling”, blinding with sky-blue light, huge ice “icicles” of incredible beauty hung, turning this fabulous “cave” into a fantastic “ice world”, which seemed to have no end ...
- Come on, my guests, grandfather will be incredibly glad to see you! - smoothly sliding past us, the girl said warmly.
And then I finally understood why she seemed unusual to us - as the stranger moved, a sparkling “tail” of some special blue matter stretched behind her all the time, which shone and twisted like tornadoes around her fragile figure, crumbling behind her. her silver dust...
We did not have time to be surprised at this, when we immediately saw a very tall, gray-haired old man, proudly sitting on a strange, very beautiful chair, as if emphasizing his importance for those who did not understand. He quite calmly watched our approach, not at all surprised and not yet expressing any emotions, except for a warm, friendly smile.
The white, iridescent silver, flowing clothes of the old man merged with the same, completely white, long hair, making him look like a good spirit. And only the eyes, as mysterious as those of our beautiful stranger, shocked us with boundless patience, wisdom and depth, making us shudder from the infinity through them...
- You will be healthy, guests! the old man greeted kindly. - What brought you to us?
- And hello to you, grandfather! Stella greeted happily.
And then, for the first time in the entire time of our already rather long acquaintance, I was surprised to hear that she finally addressed someone as “you” ...
Stella had a very funny way of addressing everyone as “you”, as if by this emphasizing that all the people she met, whether they were adults or completely still kids, were her good old friends, and that for each of them she had a “wide open” the soul is open ... Which, of course, instantly and completely disposed to it even the most closed and the most lonely people, and only very callous souls did not find a way to it.
“Why is it so cold here?” - Immediately, out of habit, questions rained down. – I mean, why do you have such an “icy” color everywhere?
The girl looked at Stella in surprise.
“I never thought about it…” she said thoughtfully. - Probably because we had enough heat for the rest of our lives? We were burned on Earth, you see...
- How - burned ?!. Stella stared at her dumbfounded. - Really burned? .. - Well, yes. It's just that I was a Witch there - I knew a lot ... Like my whole family. Here is grandfather - he is Vedun, and mother, she was the strongest Vidunya at that time. This means that she saw what others could not see. She saw the future just as we see the present. And the past, too... And in general, she could and knew a lot - no one knew so much. And ordinary people apparently hated this - they did not like too many "knowers" ... Although, when they needed help, they turned to us. And we helped... And then those whom we helped betrayed us...
The girl-witch with darkened eyes looked somewhere into the distance, for a moment not seeing or hearing anything around, leaving in some distant world known to her alone. Then, shivering, she twitched her fragile shoulders, as if remembering something very terrible, and quietly continued:
“So many centuries have passed, and I still feel like the flame is consuming me ... That’s probably why it’s “cold” here, as you say, dear,” the girl finished, turning to Stella.
“But you can’t be a Witch in any way!” Stella stated confidently. - Witches are old and scary, and very bad. So it is written in our fairy tales that my grandmother read to me. And you are good! And so beautiful!..
“Well, fairy tales are different…” the girl-witch smiled sadly. - After all, it is people who compose them ... And the fact that they show us old and scary - it’s more convenient for someone, probably ... It’s easier to explain the inexplicable, and it’s easier to arouse hostility ... You, too, will cause more sympathy if they burn the young and beautiful rather than the old and terrible, right?
“Well, I’m also very sorry for the old women ... but not the evil ones, of course,” Stella said with her eyes downcast. – It’s a pity for any person when such a terrible end – and, twitching her shoulders, as if imitating a witch girl, she continued: – Did they really, really burn you?! Quite, completely alive? .. How must it hurt you ?!. What is your name?
Words habitually poured out of the baby in a machine-gun burst and, not having time to stop her, I was afraid that the owners would be offended in the end, and from welcome guests we would turn into a burden that they would try to get rid of as soon as possible.
But for some reason no one was offended. Both of them, both the elder and his beautiful granddaughter, answered any questions with a friendly smile, and it seemed that for some reason our presence really gave them sincere pleasure ...
My name is Anna, honey. And “really, really” I was completely burned once ... But that was a very, very long time ago. Almost five hundred Earth years have already passed...
I looked in complete shock at this amazing girl, unable to take my eyes off her, and tried to imagine what a nightmare this amazingly beautiful and gentle soul had to endure! ..
They were burned for their Gift!!! Just because they could see and do more than others! But how could people do this? And, although I had long understood that no animal was able to do what a person sometimes did, it was still so wild that for a moment I completely lost the desire to be called this same “man” .. ..
It was the first time in my life when I really heard about the real Veduns and Witches, in the existence of which I always believed ... And now, having finally seen the real Witch in reality, I, naturally, terribly wanted "immediately and that's it - everything” to ask her !!! My restless curiosity "fidgeted" inside, literally squealing with impatience and begged to ask now and be sure "about everything"!..
And then, apparently without noticing it myself, I plunged so deeply into the alien world that suddenly opened up to me that I did not have time to correctly react to the suddenly mentally opened picture ... and a fire flared up around my body, terribly real in its terrible sensations. !..
The roaring fire “licked” my defenseless flesh with burning tongues of flame, exploding inside, and almost depriving me of my mind ... Wild, unimaginably cruel pain swept over my head, penetrating into every cell! unfamiliar suffering, which could not be appeased or stopped by anything. Blinding, the fire twisted my essence, howling with inhuman horror, into a painful lump, not letting me breathe! .. I tried to scream, but my voice was not heard ... The world collapsed, breaking into sharp fragments and it seemed that it could not be put back together ... The body blazed like a terrible festive torch ... incinerating, burning with it, my wounded soul. Suddenly, screaming terribly... I, to my greatest surprise, again found myself in my "earthly" room, still chattering with my teeth from the unbearable pain that suddenly fell from somewhere. Still stunned, I stood looking around in confusion, unable to understand who and why could do something like this to me...
But, despite the wild fright, I gradually still managed to somehow pull myself together and calm down a little. After a little thought, I finally realized that this, most likely, was just a very real vision, which, with its sensations, completely repeated the nightmare that had once happened to the witch girl ...
Despite the fear and still too vivid sensations, I immediately tried to return to the fabulous "ice palace" to my abandoned, and probably already very nervous, girlfriend. But for some reason, nothing worked ... I was squeezed like a lemon, and I didn’t even have the strength to think, not to mention such a “journey”. Angry at myself for my "softness", I again tried to gather myself, when suddenly someone else's force literally pulled me into the already familiar "ice" hall, where my faithful friend Stella was rushing about, jumping excitedly.
– Nu, that same you?! I was so scared!.. What happened to you? It’s good that she helped, otherwise you would still be flying “somewhere” now! – panting from “righteous indignation”, the little girl immediately blurted out.
I myself didn’t really understand yet how this could happen to me, but then, to my great surprise, the voice of the unusual mistress of the ice palace sounded affectionately:
- My dear, you are a Darina! .. How did you end up here? And you're alive!!! Are you still in pain? I nodded in surprise. - Well, what are you, you can’t watch this! ..
The girl Anna affectionately took my head, still “boiling” from the sizzling pain, in her cool hands, and soon I felt how the terrible pain began to slowly recede, and after a minute it completely disappeared.
– What was it?.. – I asked dumbfounded.
“You just looked at what happened to me. But you still do not know how to defend yourself, so you felt everything. You are very curious, this is your strength, but your misfortune, dear ... What is your name?
“Svetlana…” I said hoarsely, slowly coming to my senses. And here she is, Stella. Why are you calling me Darin? This is the second time I've been called that, and I'd really like to know what it means. If possible, of course.
According to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Agora Association participated in political activities using funds received from the US State Department. The Agora Association stated that this information was false and denied receiving funds from the US State Department, and regarded the actions of the prosecutor's office as "unreasonable interference in the work of a human rights organization and revenge for a principled position in defending the rights and legitimate interests of non-governmental organizations in Russia" On July 21, 2014, the organization was included in the register of NGOs acting as a foreign agent.
International Agora began its activity in 2015 - six months before the liquidation of the Association of the same name.
International Agora is not entity, we are not engaged in financial and economic activities. We can say that we have a club of interests. The name was left because it is a recognizable brand, because not only our leading lawyers and lawyers are known, but also the Agora organization
Awards [ | ]
Management [ | ]
Key representatives:
Activity [ | ]
The main areas of work are the protection of Russians, including civil activists, journalists, bloggers, as well as non-governmental organizations, from illegal actions of state bodies. As of December 2017, lawyers and lawyers of the International Agora are handling about 300 cases in Russian courts and 431 complaints of the applicant in the European Court of Human Rights, of which 102 are from participants in the anti-corruption action on March 26 from 12 cities of Russia. In the Agora cases, the ECtHR has announced more than 30 judgments. According to them, the state paid the applicants more than 16 million rubles in compensation. In 2017, the ECtHR issued 12 judgments in the cases of lawyers and lawyers of the Agora and recovered 226,000 euros. As of January 1, 2018, 103 cases of the International Agora were communicated to the ECtHR.
Affairs [ | ]
Agora's lawyers represent the interests of the Telegram messenger in a dispute with the FSB of Russia, demanding to provide "keys" for decoding user messages.
In 2017 for the lawyers of the International Agora:
In St. Petersburg, due to numerous violations, the court returned to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor to the Investigative Committee, the criminal case on extremism of the activist Dina Garina.
In the Vologda Oblast, activist Yevgeny Domozhirov was acquitted in a case of extremism and slander.
In Adygeya, the court dismissed the 2.5-year-long case of extremism against the well-known ecologist Valery Brinikh. The court also overturned the decision to include his article in the list of extremist materials.
In Ulyanovsk, the prosecution of activist Danil Alferyev for parodying a speech by a pro-government politician has been terminated.
In Kurgan, the court acquitted the teacher kindergarten Evgeny Chudnovets.
In Yekaterinburg, the district court released the video blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky, who was catching Pokemon in the temple. The regional court commuted his sentence to 2 years and 3 months probation.
The order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the ban on photographing police departments has been canceled.
In Tver, an electrician Vladimir Yegorov, accused of extremism, was released from a pre-trial detention center for a post on VKontakte against the President of Russia.
In Mordovia, a court found it illegal to deprive lawyer Sergei Naumov of his status for wearing a bandana.
In the Kuban, a PDN inspector was sentenced to 23 years for the rape and murder of a girl.
In Elista, 7 employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service were sentenced to 37 years for torturing prisoners to death.
In the Krasnodar Territory, 10 employees of an educational colony who tortured teenagers were convicted.
9 seriously ill convicts were released by court decision in Tatarstan, St. Petersburg, Karelia, Sverdlovsk region, Krasnodar, Trans-Baikal and Krasnoyarsk territories.
Previously, Agora's lawyers worked on the cases of journalists Oleg Kashin and ("Gazeta.Ru") - on cases of beating them, a blogger in the case of placing him in a psychiatric hospital for publishing on the Internet, the art group "War", gallery owner Marat Gelman , music critic Artemy Troitsky, author of the youth "Monsters", artist Artyom Loskutov.
Lawyers of "Agora" and lawyers cooperating with it achieved the termination of criminal prosecution of the head of the Samara Association of non-profit organizations "In defense of the rights of voters" VOICE "" Lyudmila Kuzmina, editor-in-chief of the news agency "" Lyudmila Kotova, director of the Center for Physical, Legal and Spiritual Development of Children and Adolescents Tambov Vera Dementieva, leader of the national Mari organization “Mari Ushem” Nina Maksimova, editor of the online magazine “Mikhail Afanasyev”, parents of Kazan journalist Natalya Petrova, Tyumen anarchists Andrei Kutuzov and Rustem Fakhretdinov, Izhevsk anti-fascist Andrei Petrov, Transbaikal human rights activist Vitaly Cherkasov, blogger Dmitry Solovyov , editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in Samara Sergey Kurt-Adzhiev, head of the Internet library Antikompromat Vladimir Pribylovsky, leader of the Krasnodar human rights organization ETnIKA Anastasia Denisova, chairman of the Tambov human rights center Lidia Rybina, chief accountant tera Commissioner for Human Rights in Tatarstan, anti-fascist journalist of the Institute "Collective Action" Alexei Gaskarov in the case of an attack on the administration of Khimki, editor-in-chief of "Vechernaya Tyumen" Vladimir Efimov. The Association also helped Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin in court on the suit of the head of Rosmolodezh Vasily Yakemenko. As a result , the claims against the journalist were denied .
I can tell you what AGORA and the Kazan Human Rights Center do - they protect citizens from the lawlessness of law enforcement officers. They repeatedly engaged in torture in the police, they were engaged in ways to develop various methods of how people can protect themselves from their lack of rights when faced with law enforcement agencies. According to the materials of the Kazan Human Rights Center, there was more than one criminal case against police officers who mocked the population. "AGORA" in general now partially represents the interests of the victims of Major Evsyukov, who, as you know, shot 9 people with a pistol.
As is known from the documents of the case, 2 people were killed, more than 20 received various injuries.
Books [ | ]
In 2008 Agora and Human Rights Resource Center presented a book Akhmetgaliev R.Kh., Kanevskaya M.A., Maksimov V.A., Chikov P.V. Non-governmental. Decade of Survival. - Kazan: Fatherland, 2008. - 244 p. - ISBN 978-5-9222-0244-2.. It collects and presents in an accessible form an analysis of the existing law enforcement and judicial practice on the issues of registration and control of NGOs. The study was based on over 250 cases, lawsuits of the justice authorities and decisions of courts of general jurisdiction on the liquidation and termination of the activities of NGOs.
In 2012, the Association published a book Chikov P.V., Akhmetgaliev R.Kh., Kolbasin D.A. Methodology for conducting public events: distribution of roles, relations with journalists, protection. - Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations "AGORA", 2012. - 88 p. - ISBN 978-5-91940-216-9..
Analytics [ | ]
released the report "One Hundred Russian Whistleblowers". Agora's lawyers estimate that since 1995 there have been at least a hundred instances of public interest violations and abuses being made public. At the same time, people themselves are increasingly subjected to criminal prosecution, and information is classified.
In 2017, the International Agora presented the report "Russia under surveillance - 2017: how the authorities are building a system of total control over citizens." In Russia, the system of almost total control of domestic special services over the Internet traffic of Russians continues to develop, the authors of the study state.
In 2017, the International Agora prepared a report “Freedom of speech as a sacrifice. Censorship due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”. According to Russian human rights activists, the protracted conflict with Ukraine has caused enormous damage to human rights - reprisals against political opponents who criticize the Kremlin's policies have become more frequent, and censorship has tightened.
In 2017, Agora International published a report “Russia. Internet Freedom - 2016: under martial law. Human rights activists reported an eightfold increase in the number of cases of restrictions on the freedom of the Internet.
Criticism [ | ]
According to the correspondent of the agency "" Arina Morokova, voiced in December 2011, the Association received funding from American funds unfriendly to Russia, such as the Democracy Support Fund, the MacArthur Foundation and. She also suggests that the Association, through its activities to support HIV-positive Russians, lobbied for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy. In addition, the Association is blamed for violations of the law revealed by the Department for Tax Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan, in particular:
- non-payment of income tax on donations received,
- participation in the laundering of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism,
- purchase of real estate in the center of Kazan with funds whose origin is unknown.
The Association on the same day issued a refutation of this material, in particular, drawing attention to the facts that:
1) back in July 2011, all the claims of the tax service were declared illegal by the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation .;
3) The AGORA Association does not own real estate, and the building where the Association's lawyers work belongs to the Kazan Human Rights Center, which, back in 2008, was the only one in Europe that received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation award for its purchase.
4) The Association does not lobby for the introduction of methadone substitution therapy.
In December 2011, the Department of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation for Moscow, in connection with the appeal of a State Duma deputy to conduct an audit of the compliance of the activities of the human rights association AGORA with the norms of the current legislation, conducted an appropriate audit. “According to the results of the audit, it was revealed that the Interregional Association of Human Rights Organizations “AGORA” is not engaged in promoting the legalization of drugs and the introduction of substitution therapy (“methadone programs”),” the head of the Federal Drug Control Service said in a response to the results of the audit to the Deputy Prosecutor of Moscow V. V. Rosinsky RF in Moscow, Police Lieutenant General V. K. Davydov.
Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of the Novy Region agency, Yulia Shatova, the day after the appearance of Arina Morokova's material, apologized to the AGORA Association for this publication: “I apologize to you for yesterday's publication. At the moment, an official investigation is being held with the journalist who wrote this material. Once again, I apologize for the incorrect statements made to you. Clearly there has been a breach of trust." As a result, Novy Region published a refutation of Arina Morokova's text.
liquidation [ | ]
On February 10, 2016, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, which demanded the liquidation of Agora. According to the ministry, the organization violated the law on non-profit organizations - foreign agents: it tried to shape public opinion, influence state policy, refused to be included in the register of foreign agents and even tried to get out of it after it was forcibly entered there.
According to the lawyer of the organization, Ramil Akhmetgaliev, since its inception, Agora has been carrying out generally useful activities, has never organized public events, has not provided assistance to political parties and politicians, and has not participated in any form in the electoral processes. The lawyer said that in the statement of claim, the Ministry of Justice does not give a single argument in favor of the thesis that Agora threatens national security, the foundations of the constitutional order, the life and health of other citizens, and the violations committed by it are irreparable.
Immediately after the announcement of the decision of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, lawyer Akhmetgaliev stated: “We consider the forced liquidation of the Association for its human rights activities as recognition of the effectiveness of its activities, extreme sensitivity for the authorities and an unequivocal repressive step demonstrating the true goals of state policy towards non-governmental organizations in Russia.”
The former head of Agora, Pavel Chikov (headed the Association until October 2015), stated in his Facebook account that the work of lawyers and lawyers in cases of violation of human rights will continue within the framework of the Agora International Human Rights Group, created in autumn 2015, and the Agora Association itself “In fact, it has been mothballed for a long time. So the Ministry of Justice is literally at war with a ghost.
Notes [ | ]
- About Agora International Human Rights Group (indefinite) . International Agora. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- Liquidation of "Agora" Andrei Kozenko recalls the most high-profile cases of a human rights organization (indefinite) . Medusa. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- Kommersant-Gazeta - "Agora" was given a political opinion (indefinite) . Retrieved April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
- The prosecutor's office demands to recognize "Agora" as a foreign agent // City portal e-kazan.ru, 06/05/2012
- Lenta.Ru (indefinite) . Agora to become international human rights group.
- Business Online (indefinite) . Pavel Chikov: “There is de facto no justice in Russia, the profession of a lawyer is dying”.
- Business Online (indefinite) . Who and from whom does the Agora protect?.
- Vadim Meshcheryakov. Idel.Reality (indefinite) . "Agora" became the laureate of the international award for human rights activities.
- Anastasia Kornia. Vedomosti (indefinite) . Russians massively complain to the ECtHR due to arrests at anti-corruption rallies.
- Sergei Golubev. Media zone (indefinite) . Strasbourg, instructions for use. In what cases it is necessary to apply to the ECtHR and how to do it.
- Official website of the International Agora (indefinite) . Order a complaint to the ECtHR.
- Denis Sukhov. TVNZ (indefinite) . The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation received a lawsuit from Telegram against the FSB.
- Tatyana Voltskaya. Radio Liberty (indefinite) . "I called the FSB officer an earthworm".
- Rosbalt (indefinite) . Human rights activists have achieved the acquittal of the Vologda activist Domozhirov.
- Caucasian Knot (indefinite) . Brinich succeeded in removing his article from the list of extremist materials.
- meduza (indefinite) . Ulyanovsk activist cleared of extremism charges for speaking about fight against "fifth column" in State Duma.
- businessman (indefinite) . Video with a naked child will be shown in Strasbourg.
- RBC (indefinite) . Pokemon-catching blogger sentenced to probation.
- Anastasia Kurilova. businessman (indefinite) . The police are still closed to cameras.
- Alexey Obukhov. Moscow's comsomolets (indefinite) . Electrician from Tver who insulted Putin released on bail.
- Pravo.Ru (indefinite) . A lawyer in shorts and a bandana will return his status.
- Alexey Obukhov. Moscow's comsomolets (indefinite) . Pedophile police officer sentenced to treatment for sadism in colony.
- Newsru.com (indefinite) . In Kalmykia, sentenced to employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service who tortured a prisoner to death.
- RBC (indefinite) . Employees of a colony in the Kuban who tortured teenagers were mitigated the punishment.
- YouTube channel ADV-TV (indefinite) . Results - 2017 International Agora.
- Investigators again close the case against the activists of the "War", the prosecutor's office has not yet approved the decision (indefinite) . Gazeta.ru (January 10, 2012). Archived from the original on December 28, 2012.
