On 27 May 2024, the Moscow City Court denied the appeal to the extention of the pre-trial dentention of human rights defender and lawyer Grigory Melkonyants.
On 16 October 2023, Basmanny District Court of the city of Moscow extended the pre-trial detention of human rights defender Grigory Melkonyants for three months, until 17 January 2024.
On 24 October 2023, human rights group Crew Against Torture reported that the Chechen Authorities had held Crew Against Torture member and Chechen human rights defender Magomed Alamov, and issued death threats. The authorities also threatened Magomed Alamov by threatening his family’s safety.
On 4 July 2023, a group of unknown individuals attacked and severely beat human rights defenders Aleksandr Nemov and Elena Milashina, when they were in a taxi travelling from Grozny City Airport. Both human rights defenders were headed to Grozny, Chechen Republic, for the verdict announcement in the Akhmat District Court on the case of political prisoner Zarema Musayeva on 4 July 2023. They were both were admitted to the Grozny City Hospital #9, but later transferred to a medical facility in Beslan, North Ossetia
On 4 July 2023, a group of unknown individuals attacked and severely beat human rights defenders Aleksandr Nemov and Elena Milashina, when they were in a taxi travelling from Grozny City Airport. Both human rights defenders were headed to Grozny, Chechen Republic, for the verdict announcement in the Akhmat District Court on the case of political prisoner Zarema Musayeva on 4 July 2023. They were both were admitted to the Grozny City Hospital #9, but later transferred to a medical facility in Beslan, North Ossetia
On 20 May 2023, law enfocement officers in Perm raided the apartment of woman human rights defender and lawyer Elena Pershakova for six hours. During the raid, the authorities seized the woman human rights defender’s phone, laptop, hard drive and work-related documents. The Federal Security Service in the city of Perm scheduled Elena Pershakova’s questioning for 24 May 2023. It is not yet clear if there are any charges being brought against the woman human rights defender or if she will be questioned as a witness.
On 11 November 2021, the International Historical and Human Rights Society ‘Memorial’ (International Memorial) received a notice from the Supreme Court of Russian Federation, stating that the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation filed a motion to permanently shut down the association citing systemic violation of the “foreign agents” law. The court hearing is scheduled for 25 November 2021.
On 20 January 2022, Chechen law enforcement officers physically attacked human rights defenders and lawyers Sergey Babinets and Oleg Khabibrakhmanov and woman human rights attorney Natalia Dobronravova, while they were providing legal assistance for their clients in Nizhnii Novgorod. During the incident, Chechen officials abducted the human rights defenders client, Zarema Musaeva, who is the mother of human rights defender Abubakar Yangulbayev. Front Line Defenders believes that these attacks and the abduction is related to the human rights defenders human rights work.
On 20 January 2022, Chechen law enforcement officers physically attacked human rights defenders and lawyers Sergey Babinets and Oleg Khabibrakhmanov and woman human rights attorney Natalia Dobronravova, while they were providing legal assistance for their clients in Nizhnii Novgorod. During the incident, Chechen officials abducted the human rights defenders client, Zarema Musaeva, who is the mother of human rights defender Abubakar Yangulbayev. Front Line Defenders believes that these attacks and the abduction is related to the human rights defenders human rights work.
On 6 February 2020, a group of unknown individuals violently attacked lawyer Marina Dubrovina and journalist Elena Milashina in the lobby of the Continent hotel in Grozny, Chechnya. The human rights defenders were in Grozny for the court hearing of Islam Nukhanov.
On 4 May 2023, Ostankino District Court of the city of Moscow fined human rights defender Yan Dvorkin for violation of the so-called “LGBT propaganda” law. The Court ordered Yan Dvorkin to pay RUR 100,000. The human rights defender will appeal this decision.
On 7 May, 2023 Crimean Tatar human rights defender Abdureshit Dzhepparov was released after completing his sentence of 12 days administrative arrest.
On 14 December 2022, the Nizhnii Novgorod Regional Court kept the fine of RUR 100,000 (approximately EUR 2000) of human rights defender Sergey Babinets in force. This decision came after the human rights defender appealed the initial decision on 17 October 2022. Sergey Babinets will continue to appeal this decision.
On 27 July 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Ingushetia initiated a third criminal case against woman human rights defender Isabella Evloeva. The woman human rights defender is being charged with public dissemination of deliberately false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as per part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The Russian authorities also issued a country-wide search warrant for Isabella Evloeva.
On 8 December 2021, the Kirov District Court of the Republic of Crimea ruled in favour of the sentencing of human rights defender Mustafa Seidaliev to 10 days detention. The Court found the human rights defender guilty of “production and publication of extremist data” (Article 20.29 of the Code of Civic Conduct) and “propaganda of prohibited symbols” (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Civic Conduct) in relation to his social media posts published in 2012.
On 16 June 2022 law enforcement officers raided woman human rights defender Irina Putilova’s apartment. The raid was sanctioned as a part of the criminal case on “hooliganism motivated by political and ideological hatred” under article 6.1.213 of the Criminal Code launched against human rights project Open Space. It is an article that assumes jail time, up to 7 years if sentenced, yet, the individual who will receive the persecution remains unidentified. On the same day, the law enforcement officers arrived at the office of human rights project Open Space in St.
On 12 April 2022, the Dorogomilovsky District Court in Moscow sentenced each of the four former editors at DOXA, Armen Aramyan, Vladimir Metelkin, Alla Gutnikova, and Natasha Tyshkevich, to two years of correctional labour for the alleged involvment of minors in illegal protests in January 2021. Additionally, the Dorogomilovsky District Court banned them from administering any websites for three years.
On 29 January 2022, unknown individuals placed offensive posters on the door of the apartment where human rights defender Igor Kalyapin is registered, in Nizhny Novgorod. One of the posters displayed "Igor Kalyapin defends terrorists! Shame on foreign agent!", while the other one stated "Igor Kalaypin is a foreign agent! Sold the Motherland for German and American grants!". The human rights defender reported that the person inhabiting the apartment is his 84-year-old mother.
On 20 January 2022, Chechen law enforcement officers physically attacked human rights defenders and lawyers Sergey Babinets and Oleg Khabibrakhmanov and woman human rights attorney Natalia Dobronravova, while they were providing legal assistance for their clients in Nizhnii Novgorod. During the incident, Chechen officials abducted the human rights defenders client, Zarema Musaeva, who is the mother of human rights defender Abubakar Yangulbayev. Front Line Defenders believes that these attacks and the abduction is related to the human rights defenders human rights work.
On 1 December 2021, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court upheld the previous decision by the Nizhny Novgorod Soviet District Court to find human rights defender Igor Kalaypin guilty of "participating in the activities of an undesirable organization" under Article 20.33 of the Code of Civic Conduct of the Russian Federation.
