Human rights defender Dinar Idrisov physically attacked
On 6 March 2019, four unidentified men attacked human rights defender Dinar Idrisov next to his house in Saint Petersburg.
Dinar Idrisov is a human rights defender, member of the human rights initiative Saint Petersburg Observers and a freelance expert at For Human Rights. He is also the coordinator of the Saint Petersburg-based human rights organisation, Russia Behind Bars, which provides legal assistance, raises funds for prisoners and their families, monitors prison conditions, and exposes cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners throughout Russia.
On 6 March 2019, four unidentified men attacked human rights defender Dinar Idrisov next to his house in Saint Petersburg.
Dinar Idrisov is a human rights defender, member of the human rights initiative Saint Petersburg Observers and a freelance expert at For Human Rights. He is also the coordinator of the Saint Petersburg-based human rights organisation, Russia Behind Bars, which provides legal assistance, raises funds for prisoners and their families, monitors prison conditions, and exposes cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners throughout Russia.
At around 3am on 6 March 2019, as Dinar Idrisov was talking on the phone while getting out of his car, which was parked next to his home, two men grabbed him from behind. The human rights defender tried to defend himself, but two more men joined the attack. He received a blow to the head and fell to the ground. The four men continued to beat Dinar Idrisov, while asking whether he would “continue defending faggots”. The men took the human rights defender’s phone as they escaped the scene. Dinar Idrisov sustained bruises and abrasions in the attack.
The police were called and arrived shortly thereafter. They brought the human rights defender to Aleksandrovskaya Hospital, where he was found to have a concussion. According to the human rights defender, the attack could have be committed in reprisal for the legal assistance that he has been providing to an individual. A criminal investigation into the attack was opened later the same day.
This is the second time Dinar Idrisov has been physically attacked since the beginning of the year. On 28 January 2018, three unidentified men severely beat the human rights defender while he was observing a public demonstration. The assailants repeatedly kicked him in the head, took his phones and camera, and broke them. As well as a concussion and bruising, the human rights defender suffered a broken arm and cheekbone.
Front Line Defenders condemns the brutal attack on Dinar Idrisov and believes the attack is directly linked to his peaceful and legitimate human rights work on legal representation.
