The participants of the 4th annual Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, which started yesterday in Helsinki, addressed to the Presidents of Finland and the Russian Federation about their concerns on human rights, democry and justice in Russia.

Here is the statement:

Dear President Halonen,
Dear President Medvedev,

While you are meeting today in Finland, we, representatives of Russian and Finnish civil societies, are also gathering here to discuss how non-governmental actors can contribute to cooperation between our two nations and to building a common European space based on the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights. We would like to draw your attention to the following concerns, which are in the centre of our discussions today.

Like you, dear Presidents, we also want to see Russia a modern and prosperous country. However, we believe that without ensuring fundamental freedoms, building strong democratic institutions and an independent judiciary any technological modernisation efforts will fail. It goes without saying that free and fair elections and independence of the media are essential to this process.

We want to share with you some of our immediate concerns, which require resolute actions that go beyond declarations.

In particular, we are convinced that the draft law granting new powers to the Federal Security Service (FSB) contradicts not only the Russian Constitution but also recognised international norms. Therefore, it should not be signed by the President of the Russian Federation.

We are extremely concerned about continued persecution of human rights defenders, political activists, trade unionists, and journalists in Russia. Instead of fighting terrorism and organised crime, thousands of law enforcement officials harass civic and political activists, often under the pretext of fighting extremism. This practice must be stopped. Murders of human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers must be effectively investigated, and perpetrators brought to justice. Impunity simply must come to an end.

Lack of fair trial and due process fundamentally undermine access to justice in Russia. This includes torture in pretrial detention centres; politically motivated trials in the cases of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev, and others; persecution of Alexey Sokolov and Oleg Orlov for their human rights work and Valentin Urusov for his trade union activism; as well as the lack of effective investigation of murders of Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova and Sergey Magnitsky. In the case of Magnitsky it is even more blatant because the names of those responsible for his death are well known. This list is by far not exhaustive.

Freedom of assembly continues to be denied to the Russian public. Across Europe we are united in support of Russian activists who convene peaceful gatherings in the framework of the Strategy 31 campaign. In a week from now, we will again express our solidarity with the Russian people in Helsinki, Prague, Brussels, Berlin, and other cities across the continent. We call on you, President Medvedev, to guarantee the freedom of assembly on 31 July and in the future.

We hope, President Halonen and President Medvedev, that these concerns close to our hearts will form an important part of your dialogue and that future Russian-Finnish modernisation cooperation will include concrete projects in such areas as building independent judiciary, strengthening the rule of law and developing robust democratic institutions.

20.07.2010 – Helsinki

More information:

Kerkko Paananen
Information Secretary
Finnish-Russian Civic Forum
callto: 00358440707710
mailto: kerkko.paananen@finrosforum.fi