Special for the web-site of Yabloko, 22.10.2019

Photo: Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Fedotov. Photo by RIA Novosti

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Valery Fadeyev, former anchor of the Vremya programme on Channel One, as the new head of the Human Rights Council. At the same time, Putin signed a decree on changing the composition of the Council. Political scientist Yekaterina Shulman, head of the Agora human rights organization Pavel Chikov, professor of the Higher School of Economics Ilya Shablinsky, head of the Voskhod human rights organisation Yevgeny Bobrov, and former head of the Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov were expelled from the Council.

In addition, Vladimir Putin appointed new Council members: Kirill Vyshinsky, Executive director of the Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) Tatyana Merzlyakova, human rights Ombudsperson in the Sverdlovsk Region, and Alexander Tochyonov, President of the Centre for Applied Research and Programmes.

Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova, Lev Shlosberg, member of the party’s Federal Political Committee, and Andrei Babushkin, member of the Presidential Human Rights Council and Yabloko Federal Bureau member, commented on the dismissals and new appointments in their accounts in social networks.

Emilia Slabunova:

Every day brings another attack on human rights and freedoms in Russia. The Ministry of Justice demands liquidation of the movement “For Human Rights” by Lev Ponomaryov. Those who opposed the violation of these rights and freedoms – human rights defenders Pavel Chikov, Yevgeny Bobrov were expelled from the Council, this dismissals was especially cynical regarding Ilya Shablinsky and Ekaterina Shulman, who have been working there less than a year.

There are virtually no doubts that they were replaced in the Human Rights Council by regime apologists…

By the way, the Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of Russia’s Obligations at the Council of Europe, in which I made a report in Strasbourg on October 1, invited Mikhial Fedotov, Chairman of the Human Rights Council, to the meeting. He refused to come.

What can be done? Join the Yabloko party. Rights and freedoms can only be protected with political instruments.

Lev Shlosberg:

The smell of human rights disappears from the Human Rights Council under the guarantor of human rights and freedoms [President of Russia]. The Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights becomes a branch of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Not only that, Mikhail Fedotov was fired and removed from the Council, but Ilya Shablinsky, Pavel Chikov and Ekaterina Shulman, members of the Council who openly and fearlessly defended citizens from the police state, were expelled from the Council, as well as Yevgeny Bobrov, defender of immigrants and migrants and Deputy Chairman of the Council.

A letter of 27 Council members to Putin requesting an extension of Fedotov’s proxies until the end of the current term of the Council was predictably left unanswered and thrown into a garbage can. The answer is in the presidential decree No. 512 of 10.21.2019 [expelling Fedotov and some of the Council members].

This slap in the face is revenge on the quietest Fedotov and the most active members of the Council for their open human rights work. Everyone has been demonstrated: real human rights activism should in no way be associated with President Putin. As they say, do not come close to it.

Well, but all is for the better: no imitations, no covers, and no illusions. The rights and freedoms of a person and citizen have nothing to do with a citizen acting as a guarantor of rights and freedoms.

Andrei Babushkin:

If we could predict somehow the resignation of Mikhail Fedotov (although we hoped that we could avoid this resignation), the expulsion of four of our colleagues from the Council was an unpleasant surprise.

Pavel Chikov has been a member of the Council since 2012. Probably half of the people who are accused of high-profile cases are defended by lawyers from the Agora organisation headed by him.

Ilya Shablinsky was one of the best experts in the field of electoral rights. He revealed many violations, both in the electoral laws and in the law enforcement practice.

Ekaterina Shulman came to the aid of those who were detained under doubtful circumstances and helped to prevent arbitrariness against them.

However, the most important was the role of Yevgeny Bobrov, Deputy Chairman of the Council. At field meetings of the Council, he received citizens until the very morning, prepared up to half of all the recommendations of the Council, established contacts with ministerial departments and agencies, prepared a number of invaluable proposals on registering citizens and in the field of housing construction.

More than 30 members of the Council gathered to say good-buy to Mikhail Alexandrovich Fedotov and the colleagues. Some had tears in their eyes; whereas Mikhail Fedotov looked the most cheerful among the Council members.

“The Council was mainly concerned with “extinguishing fires”,” he said. “In the near future I would like to work on the problems of the next decades,” Fedotov stressed.

Fedotov promised that he would participate in the work of the Council as an expert, and would not lose touch with its members.

I would very much like to see Mikhail Alexandrovich as Secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation or, in the worst case, a member of the Federation Council.