On 16 August 2019, the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the North Caucasus Federal District conducted a search at the office of the project Justice Initiative in Nazran, Ingushetia. Two days earlier, on 14 August 2019, the Moscow office of the Justice Initiative was raided by the Federal Security Service and the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR).
On 24 May 2019, the Russian LGBT Network reported that a volunteer of the organisation had been threatened by unknown individuals who had broken into her apartment in Saint Petersburg on 17 May 2019. The perpetrators also made death threats against the Network’s Emergency programme coordinator David Isteev.
On 2 June 2017, the Investigative Committee of the city of Rostov-on-Don brought false charges against the human rights defender, Valentina Cherevatenko, under Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code for “malicious evasion of duties imposed by the law on non-profit organisations performing the functions of a foreign agent”. This is the first case of criminal prosecution of a human rights defender under this article for the alleged violation of the Foreign Agent Law, adopted in Russia in 2012.
On 27 May 2016, a Supreme Court judge in the Chechen Republic issued a special ruling which may lead to the disbarment of human rights lawyers Ms Marina Dubrovina and Mr Dokka Itslaev, who were accused of committing actions that “challenge the honour and injure the dignity of an advocate”. On 20 July 2016, the HRDs appealed the ruling of the court.
On 19 July 2013, Partisansky district court of Minsk declared the expiry of Ms Iryna Khalip’s suspended sentence. Since then, she has resumed her work as a journalist investigating corruption and human rights abuses in Belarus.
On 16 May 2011, the Zavodskoy district court of Minsk found Iryna Khalip guilty on charges of "taking part or organising actions that violate public order” and sentenced her to two years in jail in a penal colony. The court decided to suspend the sentence for two years, and she was released in the courtroom.
On 19 February 2016, human rights defender Ms Maria Razumovskaya was summoned to report to the FSB office for questioning on 9 March 2016. On 14 February, two representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had appeared at her apartment in Saint Petersburg. They questioned her about the non-governmental organisation Citizens Watch and tried to take her for further questioning without an official summons.
On 1 March 2016, human rights defender Ms Elena Shakhova was questioned by representatives of the local office of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Saint Petersburg over the work of the non-governmental organisation Citizens Watch.
