Psychiatric Assessment Ordered on Tatiana Kotlyar
On 24 July 2014, human rights defender Ms Tatiana Kotlyar received a notification from Russian authorities stating that the head of the Investigative Committee in the city of Obninsk had annulled the investigator's order for her psychiatric assessment on 7 July 2014. The notification also stated that the pre-trial travel restrictions against the human rights defender were lifted on 10 July 2014.
Tatiana Kotlyar is the deputy of Obninsk city council and is the chair of the Kaluga movement “For Human Rights”, which specialises in the protection of minority rights, including the rights of Roma and migrants. Since 2011, Tatiana Kotlyar has been allowing dozens of migrants to register her apartment as their place of residence for free. The migrants are persons who arrived in Russia under the Programme of “voluntary resettlement”, which aims to encourage people from former Soviet Union to settle in strategically important regions of Russia and to apply for Russian citizenship through a fast-stream programme. An application for citizenship requires proof of registration of a place of residence.
On 24 July 2014, human rights defender Ms Tatiana Kotlyar received a notification from Russian authorities stating that the head of the Investigative Committee in the city of Obninsk had annulled the investigator's order for her psychiatric assessment on 7 July 2014. The notification also stated that the pre-trial travel restrictions against the human rights defender were lifted on 10 July 2014.
Tatiana Kotlyar is the deputy of Obninsk City Council and is the Chair of the Kaluga movement For Human Rights, which specialises in the protection of minority rights, including the rights of Roma and migrants. On 30 April 2014, an investigative officer ordered the psychiatric assessment of the human rights defender in relation to an ongoing criminal investigation into the allegations that she falsely allowed dozens of migrants to illegally register her own apartment as their place of residence. On 6 May 2014, the human rights defender submitted a procedural complaint against this decision to the Obninsk District Court under Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings.
On 12 May 2014, the Obninsk District Court rejected Tatiana Kotlyar's procedural complaint. Although the investigator's order had been annulled and the travel ban lifted on on 7 July and 10 July 2014 respectively, the Kaluga Regional Court ruled on 14 July 2014 to uphold the decision of Obninsk District Court. Tatiana Kotlyar was only notified of these developments by the Investigative Committee in Obninsk on 24 July 2014. The investigations into Tatiana Kotlyar's case are still ongoing and a preliminary hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the lifting of the travel ban against Tatiana Kotlyar and the annulment of the order for her psychiatric assessment. However, Front Line Defenders remains deeply concerned by the procedural implications of the decision of the Kaluga Regional Court on 14 July 2014, which was taken in spite of the prior annulment of the investigator's order for Tatiana Kotlyar's psychiatric assessment. Front Line Defenders believes the human rights defender is being targeted as a result of her peaceful and legitimate work promoting minority rights in the Russian Federation.
For more information on the Front Line Defenders Urgent Appeal dated 7 May 2014, please click here. For more information on the Update issued on 13 May 2014, please click here.
On 12 May 2014, the Obninsk city court of the Kaluga region rejected the complaint of human rights defender Ms Tatiana Kotlyar against the decision to submit her to a psychiatric examination.
Tatiana Kotlyar is the deputy of Obninsk city council and is the chair of the Kaluga movement For Human Rights, which specialises in the protection of minority rights, including the rights of Roma and migrants. Since 2011, Tatiana Kotlyar has been allowing dozens of migrants to register her apartment as their place of residence for free. The migrants are persons who arrived in Russia under the Programme of 'voluntary resettlement', which aims to encourage people from the former Soviet Union to settle in strategically important regions of Russia and to apply for Russian citizenship through a fast-stream programme. An application for citizenship requires proof of registration of a place of residence.
The court hearing took place in absence of the investigative officer who made the original decision to submit Tatiana Kotlyar to psychiatric assessment, and it was ruled that the decision complied with the requirements imposed by Article 195 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings. The issue arose in the context of the criminal investigation opened against the human rights defender on 11 March 2014. As a result of the submission of a request to the Local Migration Department to register three foreign citizens in her apartment, Tatiana Kotlyar is charged with violating Articles 322.2 (fictitious registration of a foreign citizen in the place of residence) and 322.3 (fictitious registration of a foreign citizen or stateless person at the place of stay in a residential area in the Russian Federation) of the Criminal Code.
Tatiana Kotlyar has no history of psychiatric difficulties and has never received psychiatric treatment. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the decision to perform a psychiatric assessment, as well as the criminal investigation more generally. It is believed that they are solely motivated by the human rights defender's publicly stated opposition to the requirement of residence registration and her willingness to register more than a hundred people in her private apartment.
Front Line Defenders issued an Urgent Appeal on Tatiana Kotlyar's case on 7 May 2014.
On 30 April 2014, an investigative officer ordered the psychiatric assessment of human rights defender Ms Tatiana Kotlyar in relation to an ongoing criminal investigation into the allegations that she falsely allowed dozens of migrants to illegally register her own apartment as their place of residence. On 6 May 2014, Tatiana Kotlyar submitted a procedural complaint against this decision to the Obninsk Regional Court under Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings.
The Investigative Officer Zimin ordered the psychiatric examination, even though Tatiana Kotlyar has no history of psychiatric difficulties and has never received psychiatric treatment. It is believed that the decision may be linked to the fact that the human rights defender did not require payment for providing residence registration for more than a hundred people. The order follows the opening of a criminal case against Tatiana Kotlyar on 11 March 2014 by the Investigative Committee of the Kaluga region. The human rights defender had submitted a request to the Local Migration Department to register three foreign citizens in her apartment in violation of Articles 322.2 (fictitious registration of a foreign citizen in the place of residence) and 322.3 (fictitious registration of a foreign citizen or stateless person at the place of stay in a residential area in the Russian Federation) of the Criminal Code. If found guilty, Tatiana Kotlyar faces up to three years' imprisonment.
Since 1993, all residents of the Russian Federation are required to notify the state of their place of residence, but only the owner of the habitation can ask for registration. As a result, all those living in rented residences are dependant on the will of their landlords to register them, and a system of payment for fictitious residence has evolved. In theory, the absence of residence registration cannot be a legal obstacle to the employment of a person, but, in reality, employers require proof of residence registration. Residence registration is also necessary de facto for access to different local social services, such as medical care and enrolment in kindergartens and schools. On 6 February 2012, Tatiana Kotlyar published an open letter to President Putin in response to his initiative to introduce criminal liability for people living without residence registration. In her letter, the human rights defender denounced the discriminatory nature of the obligation of residence registration and stated that she had deliberately registered more than hundred persons in her private apartment for free. Several other Russian human rights organisations have denounced the system and called for its reform.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern regarding the order requiring a psychiatric assessment of Tatiana Kotlyar and the charges brought against her, as they are solely related to her peaceful and legitimate human rights work, in particular in defending the rights of minorities.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in the Russian Federation to:
1. Reverse the order to make a psychiatric assessment of human rights defender Tatiana Kotlyar;
2. Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Tatiana Kotlyar, as they are solely motivated by her peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
