May, 2009. Monthly Summary

In May, 2009, not less than 22 people, including 5 fatalities, became victims of hate motivated violence. In all, from the beginning of the year, there have been 147 victims of such attacks, including 30 fatalities (in 2008, in the same period of time, there were 307 victims, including 66 fatalities).

In May, racist and neo-Nazi attacks were reported in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Blagoveshchensk, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod and Stavropol. In all, from the beginning of the year, violent racist attacks took place in 20 regions of Russia.

A publication on one of the neo-Nazi websites attracted public attention: the "Day of Anger" was announced on May 5, 2009. This information was also republished by the mainstream Mass Media.

On this day, there were at least one explosion (a kiosk in Moscow) and three arson attacks (police departments and a military commissariat in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Cheboksary respectively). We consider, that chances are high that far-right groups are responsible for these incidents. There were other actions on this day, the neo-Nazis claimed responsibility for, but some of them, we believe, simply never happened, and some seem to be :ordinary; non-political crimes.

In May, we registered not less than 9 cases of hate motivated vandalism: 4 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism, 4 cases of neo-Nazi vandalism against memorials of the World War II, and one case of desecration of a Muslim cemetery.

In all, from the beginning of the year, we registered not less than 34 acts of vandalism which we with no hesitation attribute to radical nationalists. For the first time in many years, actions against Jewish objects (9 incidents) :gave the pas; to ideologically motivated attacks on memorials of the World War II and neo-Nazi graffiti (13 incidents). Objects of Russian Orthodox Church are on the third place in this row (7 incidents).

Federal List of Extremist Materials was enlarged on 13 and 20 of May. Paragraphs 368-374 were added to the List. We consider paragraphs 373 and 374 to be rather doubtful (a website :Ufa Gubernskaya; and a book on history :Waffen SS;).

In May, there were not less than 3 verdicts for violent hate crimes. In Moscow, 2 teenagers were convicted for 2 racist attacks; in Adygeya, a policeman was convicted for an attack on an Armenian family; in Izhevsk, a neo-Nazist was convicted for an attack on an antifascist girl. Noticeably, it was the policeman who was the only one of the 4 convicted people who got a suspended sentence.

In all, in 2009, there have been not less than 11 verdicts for violent racist crimes against 28 people (including 5 people who got suspended sentences).

There were 2 verdicts for hate propaganda in May. On May 28, 2009, Alexander Belov (Potkin), a former (in fact, a still operating) leader of Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) was sentenced to 1,5 years of suspended imprisonment for incitement to ethnic hatred. Despite the fact that Belov went basically unpunished, this is one of a few guilty verdicts against prominent Russian far right leaders. On May 29, 2009, a nationalist activist from Arkhangelsk was convicted for hate propaganda. In all, from the beginning of the year, there were not less than 13 verdicts against 17 people (including 6 of them with suspended sentences).

Besides, in May, in Sverdlov region, a satanist was convicted for repeated desecration of cemeteries committed out of hate motive.

In May, 2009, the Supreme Court of Russian Federation doomed as an extremist international religious organization :Tablighi Jamaat;. We consider this decision as unlawful. Lawyers from a human rights Association :AGORA; have filed a cassational appeal concerning this case.

We also consider as unlawful anti-extremist warnings given by Roskomnadzor to :Krasnoyarsky Rabochy;, :Permsky Obozrebatel; and :Chernovik; newspapers. It is already the second warning in a year term to :Chernovik;, which means, that a process against it may be initiated to close the newspaper. (Besides, at the moment, 5 journalists from :Chernovik; are being charged - unlawfully, in our opinion - with incitement to hatred.)

However, the most outrageous :anti-extremist; action of the month became introduction of a draft bill on criminalization of rehabilitation of Nazim and :offences against historical memory; concerning the World War II. The draft bill was obviously introduced in connection to the creation of the president commission for counteraction to :falsification of Russian history;. We share the opinion of :Memorial; Society on this question and consider this initiative to be rather doubtful. The draft article of the Criminal Code introduced to the State Duma is defined quite inaccurately, in particular, if the bill is adopted, it will be forbidden to call a crime any actions committed by state-members of anti-Hitler alliance. This is an outrageous violation of freedom of scientific discussion (e.g. to call a crime the execution of Polish officers in Katyn or the bombing of Hirishima).