Information and Analytical Center of Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights

SECTION 2

OBSERVANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL CIVIL LIBERTIES

À) FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION

The number of the conflicts with participation of MASS MEDIA grows in the Nizhniy Novgorod region. There were 30 conflicts of such kind in 1996, there were 67 conflicts in 1997, and 65 conflicts in the first nine months of 1998.[1]

The appellate court on information disputes at the President of Russian Federation considered an application of the general director of closed joint-stock company "TV station of a "Network ÍÍ" Mr. V.E. Bulavinov about an infringement of the professional journalists' right of the TV station to receiving and distribution of the information on November 26, 1998. On October 8, 1998 a film unit of the telestation in a composition of the correspondent Mrs. M. Starostina and the operator Mr. I. Novikov was not admitted to the meeting of the governor of the region Mr. I.P. Sklyarov with Chinese businessmen by the guards of the administration of the Nizhniy Novgorod region. The chief of a press service of the governor Mrs. M.M. Karelina referred to the absence of the provision for accrediting of the journalists at a press service of the department and stated, that "that is a voluntary business of administration to let journalists come in or not". From other materials of the case it follows that other mass media organizations (a broadcast company "Volga", TV channel "Dialogue", NNTV and others) were present at the meeting and could receive the information.

As it follows from received by the appeal court explanations of Mrs. M.M. Karelina the decision not to let the journalists from "Networks NN" come into the building of administration was accepted in connection with the acted references about an unreliable information ostensibly placed in the informative programs of this TV station. But the legislation of Russian Federation about mass media provides the ways of the admittance of the similar conflicts by publication of confutings or references to courts. Such form of "punishment" of the journalists, as excommencement from public significant information, is not established in any normative act. On November 26, 1998 The appellate court Decision N27(161), in which it considered actions of the chief of the press service of the governor of the Nizhniy Novgorod region Mrs. M.M. Karelina as an infringement of freedom of access to information.[2]

Soon after the described incident the administration of the Nizhniy Novgorod region accepted the Provision "About accrediting of mass media at a press center of the department for public relations and mass media of administration of the Nizhniy Novgorod region". According to the opinion of the Nizhniy Novgorod regional center for press rights protection this Provision does not correspond to the legislation on mass media of Russian Federation in the demands showed to the journalists.[3]

The order of electoral commission of the Nizhniy Novgorod region "About the Group for observance the order and rules of conducting pre-election campaign through mass media by the participants of electoral process" was published on November 4, 1998 in MASS MEDIA of Nizhniy Novgorod. "The hearing messages of mass media representatives about the realization of the agreements concluded by the candidates, electoral associations, initiative groups of the voters with editions of mass media about granting paid broadcasting time for pre-election campaign" is one of the functions of the Group for Observance. It contradicts Item 19 of the law "About MASS-MEDIA" which establishes that the editions act according to the basis of professional independence. Besides that the most part of the Nizhniy Novgorod MASS-MEDIAS are not state and they should give reports on commercial activity only to tax organs. According to the opinion of the Nizhniy Novgorod regional center for protection press rights it is possible to consider this order as "creeping" introduction of censorship.[4]

B) FREEDOM OF BELIEF, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION

The facts of rough interposition into activity of religious confessions were not fixed in 1998. In comparison with previous years, the situation with toleration has improved a little. For example, according to the information of religious organizations "Krishna's Consciousness Society", churches "Evangelical Christian Church", "the Seventh day Adventists", Pentecostals, the group "the White Brotherhood", in the territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region displays of religious intolerance were not marked. At the same time, according to the opinion of the representatives of religious faiths, authorities and MASS MEDIA permit infringements of the right to freedom of religion.[5]

On October 23, 1998 the newspaper "Business" published the material of Mrs. Elena Inver with charges the religious community of "Iegov's Attestors in totalitarian regime. According to the representative of "Iegov's Attestors" the Elder Mr. Shimon Bednarek the publication has a "tendentious and defamatory character" and can be considered as the fact of religious intolerance.

According to the assessment of the representative of religious group "White Brotherhood" the militia pays too much attention to their street actions (religious chanting). Separate representatives of militia unsubstantiatedly affirm that "their organization is forbidden".

In 1998 there were two petitions on the facts of the refusal in registration religious communities "St. Seraphim Sarovskiy" and "St. Vasiliy the Great". The prosecutor's office of the Nizhniy Novgorod region conducted the checking of these petitions.[6]

There are cases when the representatives of nontraditional religious communities were interfered in hiring premises for conducting their actions. In particular directors of schools refused to grant them schools on Sundays.

According to the information of pastor of the church "Christian Seventh day Adventists" eight parishes were refused in their right to alternative civil service.

The refusal in realization the right to alternative civil service according to conscience reasons

The right to substitution of military service with alternative civil service is stipulated by the Constitution of Russian Federation and by Federal act "About liberty of conscience and religious associations". According to assessment of human rights organizations of Nizhniy Novgorod this right is not realized in the Nizhniy Novgorod region.[7]

Regional call-up commissions do not give the information about the right to substitute of military service with alternative civil service to recruits. In every case when recruits declare their desire to serve in civil structures they receive a refusal and are directed to armies of civil defence, to emergency service detachments or to construction detachments.

In cases of references for judicial protection the courts make verdicts in favour of representatives of call-up commissions, basing only on the absence of Federal Act about alternative service. Judicial organizations do not meet recruits and human rights organizations halfway in legal and lawful resolution of the conflict for changing right protective practice.

According to the data of the peace-making Group of Nizhniy Novgorod 40 men wishing to select alternative service addressed to the group from January 1, 1998 till January 25, 1999. 33 persons found motives their wishes for pacific beliefs and seven persons found motives for their religious beliefs. In 1998 16 court sessions were held in the region. In all cases courts took out illegal decisions: they refused to satisfy the petitions on call-up commissions which had not accorded the right to alternative service. At the same time no accident of a compulsory direction to military service of such citizens was fixed in 1998.

C) FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLIES AND CREATIONS OF ASSOCIATIONS

In 1998 the authorities supposed separate cases of limitation of freedom of peaceful assemblies and religious associations.

The conducting a picket protesting against the activity of a broadcasting company NNTV at TV center of Nizhniy Novgorod was illegally forbidden to the Nizhniy Novgorod branch of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia on July 20, 1998. About the intended picket Soviet regional Department for Internal Affairs was informed a bit earlier on July 8, 1998[8] so the authorities did not have lawful basises for an interdiction.

An application of the chairman of a community of "St. Seraphim Sarovskiy" V.G. Luzhain about the refusal in registration this community, and also about the refusal in registration an old-ritual community of "St. Vasiliy the Great" came to the regional prosecutors' office. According to the prsecutors' checking the constituent documents of the community were sent to the Department on public associations of the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation by the department of justice of the Nizhniy Novgorod region on August 11, 1998 for receiving a conclusion. According to Item 3.2 "Rules of registration the charters of religious associations" of the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation the documents were directed to the State Duma of Russian Federation. The term of consideration the application about registration was extended for three months and the applicant was informed about it on August 25, 1998. The constituent documents are not still returned to the department of justice of the Nizhniy Novgorod region.

In March, 1998 in Pavlovo the members of independent trade union SOCPROF conducted mass action of protest against non-disbursement of wages at joint-stock company "Pavlovskiy bus". After the action the chairman of the trade-union committee was invited to the prosecutor's office of Pavlovo for arguing, the law enforcement bodies attempted to render pressure. The interference of the regional union of association of trade unions of Russia SOCPROF of Nizhniy Novgorod and its reference to the prosecutor's office of the Nizhniy Novgorod region settled the disputed situation. As the result of the action the members of the trade union began getting wages.[9]

D) FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT INSIDE THE COUNTRY, EXPATRIATION AND MIGRATION

There are cases of limitation of freedom of movement concerning the citizens of CIS (see section "Observance of the right to residence within the country) in the Nizhniy Novgorod region. Other limitations take place according to the federal normative legal acts.

During considerations of citizens' petitions on cases of limitation freedom of movement there is a practice of non-execution by the enterprises demands concerning Federal Act "About State secret" in particular there are cases when special contracts providing voluntary refusals to go abroad for a defined period of time were not concluded with the employees of the enterprises. At such circumstances the refusal of bodies of safety and visa service to allow leaving the country was illegal.

Regime limitations on visiting closed city Sarov (Arzamas - 16) create reasons of infringement of citizens' right to residence within the country their and right to on reunification of a family. So, according to on application of the inhabitant of Sarov Mr. A.A. Krasnopyorov, his son was deprived to visit Sarov and the possibility of residence with his parents.[10]

Observance of the right to residence within the country

So-called institute of "registration" is a basic source of violation of the right to elect places of living within the country.

For a closed city, which Gorkiy was for 60 years, the practice of infringement of a freedom of movement is traditional. In the activity of visa service of the Nizhniy Novgorod region (and for other bodies connected with citizens' registration) a violation of citizens' rights most frequently is shown in:

The especially rigid improper limitations are applied to released from the places of confinement. In practice the body of registration refuses to accept the documents, if the applicant is not risen in the account at the Department for Internal Affairs, has not granted results of AIDS and tuberculosis inspection etc.

It is necessary to note that during 1998 an amount of improper limitations in the rights to registration and demands to which wishes to be registered. The regional administration of Nizhniy Novgorod[11] initiated the reference to the Constitutional court concerning a cancellation of the limitations, established by the governmental order, in citizens' registration, the Order of the Constitutional court cancelled these limitations on February 2, 1998[12] and new rules of registration came into effect at the end of 1998.

At the same time it was not possible to get rid the practice of violations of human right to residence within the country. The searches of state services on definition of needing in improvement of housing conditions, and also attempts of revealing crimes with the help of the registration account have a significant influence on conservation of restrictive character of registration. But the attempts "to adjust" migration of the population in a separately taken region are the major factors.

The owners of department housing, continuing to consider "registration" as the right to living, improperly deprive citizens of registration, which live there really. So, Mrs. N.N. Gorshkova was refused in registration her son's family at a house, which is found on the balance of the Central Bank of Nizhniy Novgorod.[13] The refusal in registration is proved "by an arisen housing dispute".[14] Mr. Z.A. Mordkovich was refused in prolonging his son's registration by the housing department.[15] The refusal in registration was proved by that fact that the chief of a Zenit-rocket school did not give his consent, which balance the flat is found in.

The Order of the House of Assembly from 1994 N64 "About the order of staying in territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region the persons who constantly live outside the region" continuos acting in the Nizhniy Novgorod region. Temporary Provisions "About the order of staying in territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region the persons who constantly live outside Russian Federation" and the Temporary Provision "About the order of compulsory expulsion of the persons, offending against the order of temporary staying in the territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region" are settled by the order.

By the adoption of the Order the House of Assembly exceeded authorities at the part of constitutional authorities of the subject of federation. Besides that the introducing of registration contradicts the governmental Order N290 from May 12, 1997, which adjusts the order of registration according to general principles of civil and international laws.

The standards, stipulated by the order, establish a licensing principle of staying of foreign citizens (the non-visas regime for the citizens of the countries of CIS), citizens of Russian Federation constantly living outside Russian Federation and the stateless persons, possibility of application approbations, down to an internment to them. In the accepted Order the term of "undesirable citizens", which are not subjected to registration is entered, the obligatory departure behind the limits of the Nizhniy Novgorod region within a daily term (Item 16) is entered. Items 10 and 14 of the Provisions "About the order of staying" authorized any prolonging of registration according to the wish of a registering body and the possibility of annulling registration. The provision "About the order of compulsory expulsion" stipulates an unprecedented order of "expulsion" or repatriation behind the limits of the Nizhniy Novgorod region of "the persons, who dodge registration". The measures of termless limitation of freedom during the time of repatriation are also stipulated "at expulsion from the territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region). The situation, which is usual in practice, is aggravated also by that fact that the appealing of actions on the application of the Order judicially actually is impossible. The citizens who subject for repatriations and repatriated persons, have no possibilities to address into courts, to receive legal, including lawyer help.

In the performance of the Order during four years the employees the Department for Internal Affairs of the Nizhniy Novgorod region repeatedly applied compulsory repatriation behind the limits of the Nizhniy Novgorod region. But financial expenses and disagreement of the accepting party limit mass nature of the application of repatriation. In 1998 cases of compulsory repatriation were not fixed.

The application of the Order renders negative influence on right protective practice of law enforcement bodies and local authorities.

On May 13, 1997 Zemskoy Assembly of Kostovskiy area established an unprecedented for regions of Russia order "About the order of staying in the territory of Kostovskiy area the persons who constantly live outside Russian Federation". In the decision the order limiting of citizens' registration in the territory of Kostovskiy area according to socially "objectionable" persons was applied. An "expulsion" behind the limits of Kostovskiy area of dodging registration persons is stipulated also as in the regional order. Concerning registration of private enterprises the order of "coordination" with Regional Department for Internal Affairs meaning the possibility of illegal interdictions is entered for businessmen, who has come from the countries of CIS.

After persevering references of human rights organizations the House of Assembly intends to change some improper demands of the Provision. Nevertheless, it is possible to call the long inactivity of Legislative Assembly of the Nizhniy Novgorod region concerning the Order from August 15, 1994 for N64, which contradicts the Constitutional standards, federal and international legislation as connivance violations of human rights. But the question on lawfulness of adoption the Provision remains non-authorized.

The order of accounting of citizens requiring in improvement of housing conditions is subjected to urgent and cardinal changes. An account on the basis of the place of formal "registration" does not respond to reality, objective requirements and as a whole contradicts the principles of ensuring social rights of the citizens. There is a contravention between a notifying principle of registration and licensing, according to which the person admits as the member of family of the hirer, and also the right of the citizen on housing is legitimized.

The definition of a family staff of the hirer on the basis of registration in conditions of the conflict of interests of the citizens, living at one accommodation, quite often results in infringement of the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens.

For example:

In such situation there was a family of the invalid of the great patriotic war Mr. L.G. Povolotskiy, which, requiring in a care of his grandson, could not register him in the flat.[16]

At the same time using the formal datum on citizens' registration in some cases results in complication of realization of other rights. Mr. V.N. Tyurin and Mr. E.S. Galaktionov can not find the place of real residence of interesting persons with the purposes of protection their rights on housing.

The registration of the citizen without the account of circumstances of his real residence and his requirements in housing is a sufficient argument for rendition of judgements in housing disputes.

The order of administration of the Nizhniy Novgorod region from July 16, 1996 N203 "About strengthening measures for the warning of distribution of an HIV-INFECTION (AIDS) in the territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region" entered improper demands showed to the migrants. By Item 1.3 of the Order the condition of "passing obligatory physical examination" and inspection on AIDS for "refugees, migrants, settlers coming into the territory of the Nizhniy Novgorod region from former republics of USSR" is made. At the same time the citizens living in the countries of former republics of USSR (except Baltic countries) have the right to unobstructed entrance and departure to the territory of Russian Federation at non-visas regime according to the intergovernmental agreements (including CIS). In this connection the demand of obligatory examination on AIDS for the citizens of CIS visiting the territory of Russia is illegal.

E) OBSERVANCE OF RIGHTS OF REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRANTS

According to the information of a migratory service, in the Nizhniy Novgorod region on January 1, 1999, 21154 forced migrants and refugees were registered. From 4022 migrants who addressed with the application, this status was received by 2755 men or 68,5%. The refusal in granting the status is connected with motives of migration or with that fact that the items of information on threat to life, violence or discrimination are not reconfirmed. In many cases in the applications economic motives of migration are used. The checking of the facts of prosecution is conducted by embassies of Russian Federation in those countries, the migrant came from. Taking into account an interest of local authorities to present the situation in the best light, such checkings are complicated.

The conditions of residence of a significant part of the migrants are extremely unsatisfactory. The most part of the refugees and forced migrants, living in a temporary housing, have no prospects to improve their housing conditions.

There are 2332 men in turn for improving housing conditions. In 1998 410 men (158 families) received interest-free long-term returnable loans, and flats on the remedies of the federal budget were bought for 255 men (70 families) from the socially unprotected categories.

During 1998 there were not cases of deportation of the migrants. But threats of dispatch are applied to coming on temporary earnings (for example, merchants in the markets).

NOTES

  1. "Komsomolskaya pravda" November 10, 1998.
  2. "Nizhegorodskiye Novosty" N227(1706) November 28, 1998.
  3. Introduction, D).
  4. "Komsomolskaya pravda" November 10, 1998.
  5. The interview of Mr. V.M. Gurskiy with confessions' representatives in the Nizhniy Novgorod region, January 12, 1999.
  6. More information find at C).
  7. The information is presented according to the data of Peacemaking Group of Nizhniy Novgorod.
  8. "Monitor", July 22, 1998.
  9. The information of Trade Union Society SOCPROF.
  10. The petition of A.A. Krasnopyorov to the Head of administration of Sarov and to the procurator of military unit 9370 (December 1998). Human Rights Society of Sorovsk.
  11. The representatives of State Legal Department of regional administration Mrs. G.A. Ionova and Mrs. T.A. Grishina prepared the constitutional petition.
  12. The Constitutional Court on February 2, 1998 established that Items 10, 12, 21 of "Refusals of registration and removal of the citizens of Russian Federation from the registration account at the place of staying and living within the limits of Russian Federation" affirmed by the governmental order of Russian Federation from July 17, 1995.
  13. The letter of Human Rights Committee NB-6011 from July 19, 1998.
  14. The letter of Visa service Department 26/2225 from September 25, 1998.
  15. The petition of Z.A. Mordkovich to the Human Rights Commission N159, from May 14, 1998.
  16. An application of Mr. L.G. Povolotskiy to Human Rights Society of Nizhniy Novgorod from August 18, 1998.

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