Take Action for Maria Razumovskaya
Your Excellency,
On 14 February 2016, two representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) appeared at the apartment of human rights defender Ms Maria Razumovskaya in Saint Petersburg.
The questioned her about the non-governmental organisation Citizens Watch and trying to take her for further questioning without an official summons.
On 14 February 2016, a district police officer who called Maria Razumovskaya several days earlier appeared at her apartment saying the complaint he had previously contacted her about, concerned another person. He was accompanied by two representatives of FSB in plain clothes, who presented their identity cards and explained to the human rights defender that they accompanied the police officer to have had a valid excuse to come. They asked Maria Razumovskaya to follow them for questioning. The human rights defender refused, as they failed to provide an official summons. The officers then started asking Maria Razumovskaya questions about Citizens Watch, in particular whether the organisation was a foreign agent, but she refused to respond. When the human rights defender called her lawyer, the FSB officers told her that soon she would be officially requested to come for questioning, and left.
On 10 February 2016, Maria Razumovskaya received a phone call from a district police officer who informed her that he had received a complaint from neighbours about noise in her apartment. The police officer asked Maria Razumovskaya to report to the police station, but she refused to do so, and suggested he come to her apartment instead to make sure it was a mistake.
I believe that the intimidation of human rights defender Maria Razumovskaya is directly linked to her peaceful and legitimate work in defence of civil and political rights in Russia. I reiterate my concern for the enactment of the "Foreign Agents law" and the significant negative impact that this law has on the work of human rights defenders in Russia.
I urge the authorities in Russia to:
1. Immediately cease all further harassment of human rights defender Maria Razumovskaya, as I believe that she has been targeted solely as a result of her legitimate work in defence of human rights in Russia;
2. Repeal the Federal Law №121-FZ, "On Introducing Changes to Certain Pieces of Legislation of the Russian Federation as Regards Regulation of Activities of Non-Commercial Organisations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents";
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Russia are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
Sincerely,
