Large demo in Moscow in homage to Anastasia Baburova and Stanislav Markelov

More than 1,000 people took part in yesterday’s rally in Moscow in homage to journalist Anastasia Baburova and human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov on the first anniversary of their murder. Young anti-fascist activists, representatives of human rights NGOs and above all ordinary citizens made up the unusually large crowd that defied freezing temperatures and marched with photos of Baburova and Markelov and other murdered journalists and activists such as Anna Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova. The mayor of Moscow had finally given permission for rallies at the departure point and finishing point but not for a march between the two. As a result, the police intervened to disperse the demonstrators during the march and to confiscate photos and posters. A large number of police also intervened at the finishing point, on Boulevard Chistoprudny, interrupting the reading of an appeal by the organising committee and grabbing the megaphone, leading to clashes and further arrests. The police said around 20 arrests were made but witnesses said more than 50 demonstrators were arrested. All were released within three hours without being charged. One of the organisers, Lev Ponomarev, the head of the NGO “For Human Rights,” nonetheless received notification of an “administrative violation” for exceeding the permitted number of demonstrators. Parallel acts of solidarity also took placed in St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Samara, Omsk and Petrozavodsk and in cities abroad, including Paris. Images of the Moscow demonstration can be seen on the websites of Kommersant, Novaya Gazeta, Indymedia, LiveJournal... Or see the portfolio at the bottom of this page (Novaya Gazeta, Rubahin) --------------------------- 19.01.2010 - Support persecuted journalists and human rights activists in Russia ! After initially banning it, the Moscow authorities have finally given the go-ahead for a march today in Moscow in homage to human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and the young Novaya Gazeta reporter Anastasia Baburova, who were gunned down on a central Moscow street exactly one year ago. The march is being organised by the ad hoc “19 January Committee” to protest against the criminalisation of civil society groups in Russia and the failure to punish acts of violence by far-right-wing groups. Similar marches are being organised in other Russian and European cities. In Paris, Reporters Without Borders and many other human rights groups are relaying an appeal (see below) for support for activists in Russia who are facing intimidation, physical attacks and death threats. After hopes were raised by the arrests of two alleged members of a neo-Nazi movement in early November, the investigation into the murders of Markelov and Baburova seems to have stalled again. The alleged shooter, Nikita Tikhonov, has retracted his initial confession, blaming it on the mistreatment he received at the hands of his interrogators and the threats they made against his wife. In a 29 December submission to the prosecutor’s office, he said he was arrested 24 hours before the time given in the police report and was beaten all night. He was shown in the black mask he wore at the time of his arrest in order to hide the marks of the blows he had received. A judge has ordered that Tikhonov and the other suspect, Yevgeniya Khasis, be held until 19 April pending further investigation. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said it suspected that the same neo-Nazi group was responsible for some of the other political murders that have taken place in recent years. While hailing an apparent determination to finally combat extreme right-wing groups which had previously taken advantage of official laxness, human rights activists have voiced concern that a scapegoat has been found to mask the continuing impunity for such acts of violence. Baburova and Markelov were gunned down after a news conference at which Markelov had condemned the early release of Yuri Budanov, an army colonel who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2003 for strangling a young Chechen woman. As a journalist, Baburova covered neo-Nazi movement and the resurgence of racism. (Photo: AFP) ------------------------------ Call for justice and solidarity one year after murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova Rally at the Fontaine des Innocents in Les Halles, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris Tuesday, 19 January at 5:30 p.m. As the French government begins celebrating the Year of Russia in France, we, international solidarity activists, trade unionists, civil society representatives, human rights activists and friends of those who defend their rights in Russia and the Caucasus, call for a rally in Paris at the same time as the rallies taking place in Russia in protest against political murders. We want to use this occasion to condemn the repression, murders and physical violence of which they have been so many victims in the past year in Russia, including the two who were murdered on 19 January 2009, Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended civil society activists, trade unionists and human rights activists, and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova. The victims of the past few months have also included anti-fascist activists Feodor Filatov and Ivan Khutorskoy, Memorial representative in Grozny Natalia Estemirova, Zarema Sadulayeva of the Chechen NGO “Save Our Generation” and her husband, and head of Ingush opposition Maksharip Aushev. The victims of the dozens of murders and hundreds of racist attacks that have taken place in Russian, including Sergei Nikolayev and Bair Sambuyev, must also be added to this list. We take this opportunity to point out that armed gangs, paramilitary militias and racists continue to act with complete impunity; that the state itself has been responsible for some of this violence, and when it has not been responsible, the judicial and police authorities have been the accomplices because of their inaction and their lies. No “Year of Russia” should overlook this situation. • We support those who are campaigning for both the perpetrators and instigators of these crimes to be brought to trial. • Alongside them, we oppose the attacks on union rights and basic freedoms. • While the French government celebrates the “Year of Russia,” we condemn the growing tendency in Russia and the North Caucasus to repress and criminalise civil society’s attempts to resist. Call issued by : Convoi Syndical pour la Tchétchénie, Comité Tchétchénie, Assemblée Européenne des Citoyens, Cedetim, FIDH, LDH, RSF, Comité Sokolov, Salp Reflex No Pasaran, Maison de l’Europe et d’Orient, Marches Européennes, NPA, Les Verts, Parti de Gauche...