Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - mei 2018

• 2018-06-05
• Democratie & mensenrechten Europa in de wereld

4 mei 2018

Court to decide fate of Chechnya's leading human rights activist: Oyub Titiev, 60, is Grozny director for Memorial, Russia’s leading human rights group. Titiev has been in jail since his arrest on January 9 on bogus marijuana possession charges. The fabricated case against him seems to be part of an effort by Chechen authorities to shut Memorial out of the region. Reportedly Human Rights Watch called on FIFA to ask Kremlin to secure the unconditional release of a Chechen human rights defender before the start of the 2018 World Cup championship. The tournament, which Russia is hosting, starts June 14. Grozny, Chechnya’s capital is slated to be the home base for Egypt’s national team during the tournament, making Chechnya part of FIFA’s World Cup operations. (Interfax, Echo Moskvi)

7 mei 2018

Putin's inauguration: On 7 May, Vladimir Putin was sworn in for his fourth term as Russian President. Putin was re-elected in the Presidential elections in March with 76.7% of the vote. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Putin stressed that the country needs "breakthroughs in all spheres of life." The media reports that Putin may submit the candidacy for Prime Minister to the Duma already today, and the Duma may vote on the candidacy on 8 May. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that meeting with outgoing Cabinet members late on Sunday, Putin thanked government officials for their work and praised PM Medvedev's activity. According to a statement posted on the Kremlin's website, Putin said that the key areas of the government's work were associated with the implementation of the Presidential decrees of May 2012 and stressed the importance to ensure the continuity of the government's activity. RBK daily takes stock of Russia's development during Putin's 18 years in power as Russia's President. (ii) According to a survey by the Levada-Centre, 47% of Russians named the regaining by Russia of the 'great power' status as the major achievement of Putin's Presidency, 38% named the stabilization of the situation in the North Caucasus, 27% the prevention of Russia's disintegration. Russians link Putin's main disadvantages to social issues, such as failure to ensure the fair distribution of revenues. (iii) According to Kommersant, the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko is likely to retain his post and may be put in charge of the department for application of information technology and the development of e-democracy. This department is currently supervised by Presidential aide Igor Shchegolev. In an article published in RBK daily, expert Tatiana Stanovaya reflects on former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin's possible appointment to a high post in the Presidential Administration. (Gazeta.ru, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, RBK, RG; see also economic headlines; Levada poll: https://www.levada.ru/2018/05/07/vladimir-putin-6/) 

14 mei 2018

Human rights activist Titiyev case: Member of the Presidential Human Rights Council Leonid Nikitinsky told Novaya Gazeta that at a meeting of the Council last Friday, human rights advocate Igor Kalyapin reported about the investigation of the case of the head of Memorial human rights centre's office in Chechnya Oyub Titiyev accused of 'illegal drug possession'. (Novaya Gazeta)

Paris terror attack: One person was killed and four other people were wounded in a knife attack in Paris late on Saturday. The authorities consider the incident a terror attack. The assailant, who was shot dead by police, has been identified as Khamzat Azimov, a French citizen born in Chechnya in 1997. According to Kommersant, Azimov had links to a unit of the Islamic State terrorist group.  Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Paris. (Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, MK, RG; Rossiya 24)

15 mei 2018

Russian public and culture figures sign letter in support of human rights activist Titiyev: Reportedly, 60 Russian public and culture figures, journalists and clergy have signed a letter to President Putin, in which they expressed support for the head of Memorial human rights centre's office in Chechnya Oyub Titiyev. The signatories to the letter write that "they have no doubt that the case against Titiyev has been fabricated by regional authorities so that to force Memorial out of Chechnya." Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov said that he considers the letter "an attempt to put pressure on the investigation and court." (Kommersant, RBC)

16 mei 2018

Human rights ombudsman again calls for investigating persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya: Reportedly, Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova intends to ask prosecutors again to conduct an investigation into reports on the alleged persecution of homosexual men in Chechnya. Kommersant, meanwhile, notes that at a UN meeting on 14 May, acting Russian Justice Minister Konovalov said that the claims of violations of the rights of representatives of the LGBT community in Chechnya had not been confirmed. (ii) Izvestia reports that Moskalkova has drafted a letter to the US Attorney General with the request to transfer Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko to a Russian prison to serve his sentence. Earlier, the newspaper reported about the deterioration of Yaroshenko's health. Yaroshenko has been convicted in the US for drug smuggling. (Kommersant, Izvestia)

21 mei 2018

Two policemen, civilian killed in militant attack on Grozny church: Two police officers from the Saratov region and a civilian were killed in an attack on the Archangel Michael church in Grozny (Chechnya's capital) on Saturday. Two more police officers were wounded. Four militants were killed. Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that the "militants received the order from a Western country." Kadyrov also said that three assailants were residents of Chechnya, while a militant leader resided in a neighbouring region. Reportedly, he was identified as Akhmed Tsechoyev, a native of Ingushetia. According to Kommersant, Tsechoyev was a member of the so-called 'Malgobek jamaat'. Press reports that the Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack on Grozny's church. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has condemned Saturday's attack on the church in Grozny as an attempt to shatter inter-religious peace in the region. Nezavisimaya Gazeta draws parallel between the attack on the Grozny church and a February 2018 attack on an Orthodox church in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar. KP recalls that five women were killed and at least four other people were wounded in the Kizlyar attack. (Gazeta.ru, Interfax, Kommersant, KP, MK, NG, RBC, RG; Rossiya 1)

Russia's new government: On Friday, Putin endorsed the new government's composition. Meeting Putin earlier on Friday, PM Medvedev proposed the candidates for ministers. There will be ten Deputy PMs in the new Cabinet, including one First Deputy PM, and 22 Ministries. The key Ministers, among them Foreign Minister Lavrov, Defense Minister Shoigu, Economic Development Minister Oreshkin, Interior Minister Kolokoltsev, Energy Minister Novak, Industry and Trade Minister Manturov and some others, retained their posts. Dmitry Patrushev, the son of the Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, was appointed as Agriculture Minister. Until now, Dmitry Patrushev has been CEO of Rosselkhozbank (Russian agricultural bank). There are three former governors in the new Cabinet – the head of the Yamalo-Nenetsky autonomous district Dmitry Kobylkin (Natural Resources and Environment Minister), Tyumen governor Vladimir Yakushev (Construction Minister) and Amur governor Alexander Kozlov (Minister for Development of Russia's Far East). Yevgeny Zinichev, who has served as the deputy head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), was appointed as the new Minister of Emergency Situations. Press mentions that in 2016, Zinichev was appointed acting governor of the Kaliningrad region, but resigned after only two months. Sergey Chebotarev, who has until now been deputy head of the Presidential Administration's department for interregional and cultural relations with foreign countries, has been appointed Minister for Development of the North Caucasus. Expert Nikolai Petrov, contacted by Vedomosti, expresses the view that the new Cabinet is likely to implement a "strategy received from outside." Expert Grigory Golosov views the new Cabinet as the government of Putin, not Medvedev. Former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, cited by Nezavisimaya Gazeta, does not rule out that Medvedev might be fired if there is serious public discontent over the situation in the country and unpopular reforms. (All media; Putin's decrees: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/57495)