The baton will be tested for constitutionality

Human rights activists collect evidence of abuse of power by riot police

The enthusiasm of law enforcement officers who dispersed “dissent marches” on Saturday in Moscow and on Sunday in St. Petersburg , it seems, will still receive a legal assessment. Yesterday, Vladimir Lukin, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, stood up for the townspeople who fell under the hot baton. The Ombudsman, who, judging by his reports, believes that the main violations of the rights of Russians occur in the social and housing and communal spheres, also remembered that the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees citizens a number of political freedoms. “The Constitution clearly says: Russian citizens have the right to assemble peacefully, without weapons, and to participate in rallies and processions, and not just in rallies, as some government officials, such as the Moscow authorities, claim,” Mr. Lukin told Interfax, promising to consider the complaints from victims and, if necessary, send them to the Prosecutor General’s Office. As the press service of the commissioner told Vremya Novostey, no such complaints have yet been received. But the human rights activist, who, after watching television news about the marches, got “the impression that some representatives of law enforcement agencies seriously exceeded their powers,” confirmed his readiness to legally support the victims if criminal cases are initiated.

The governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, also ordered verification of messages from citizens about violations of their rights during the dispersal of the “dissent march” in the northern capital.

True, if Vladimir Lukin did not limit himself to criticizing the riot police, but also reproached the authorities, who forget about the notification, and not the permitting, nature of demonstrations in Russia, then the representative of the authorities, Ms. Matvienko, focused on protecting the rights of journalists performing their professional duty at rallies. Whether the governor is ready to answer for the fact that with constant prohibitions and bureaucratic obstacles her subordinates are pushing opponents of the current government into open confrontation, which, according to Mr. Lukin, leads “to an increase in bitterness and aggressiveness in society,” is unknown.

In Moscow, officials, and even the deputies who voted for the new law on holding rallies , do not know for sure their guilt. Chairman of the Commission on State Building and Local Self-Government of the Moscow City Duma Tatyana Portnova, for example, is convinced that the organizers of the “March of Dissent” violated the city law “On ensuring conditions for the exercise of the right of citizens of the Russian Federation to hold meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and pickets in Moscow”, which was adopted just the other day in the third reading. “The rallies took place exactly according to the scheme that was proposed in the law,” the deputy told a Vremya Novostey correspondent. -- In particular, the norm of “two people per square meter” was observed, which caused so much controversy during the discussion of the draft law. However, the procession was not allowed, because for this it would be necessary to block off half the city. In addition, the march participants were given a different square and a different venue. There is nothing reprehensible in this - the executive branch may have its own considerations. Therefore, the organizers of the rally bear responsibility for what happened on Saturday. They invited people to an unauthorized rally, not coordinated with the authorities, and set them up for a clash with riot police.”

The Prosecutor General's Office, which Vladimir Lukin proposed to stand up for the rights of victims during the dispersal of marches, has so far refused to comment. However, judging by the mood of the head of the supervisory department, Yuri Chaika, there is no hope for the prosecutors’ initiative. Yesterday, the Prosecutor General pretended that he did not very well understand what kind of violations of citizens’ rights were being discussed on Saturday and Sunday, since “there are no statements, we have not received any complaints.”

Apparently, without particularly counting on the consciousness of the Prosecutor General's Office, independent human rights activists began collecting documentary evidence about the beating of march participants by police officers in order to transfer them to completely different authorities. The Moscow Helsinki Group and the Movement for Human Rights announced yesterday the creation of a public commission to investigate the events in Moscow and St. Petersburg. As the head of the MHG, Lyudmila Alekseeva, told a Vremya Novostey correspondent, the commission will collect information “on violations of the constitutional rights of citizens to peaceful marches and demonstrations,” as well as violations by law enforcement officers of the law “On the Police.” Members of the commission have already appealed to Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents who suffered from riot police with a request to provide testimony at its disposal. “We will help those who will not accept administrative punishment and promote their cases all the way to the Strasbourg court,” Ms. Alekseeva said. According to her, the commission intends to speed up the work on collecting evidence in order to transfer it to the PACE session, where they are talking about the situation with human rights in Russia. “We would like this problem to be included in the range of issues under consideration,” said the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group.

Irina BELASHEVA