Official Russian Human Rights Bodies Condemn New Law On Rallies
Interfax - 6.7.12 - JRL 2012-104

Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has called for the new law on rallies to be sent back to the State Duma committee for revision, while the council for human rights under the Russian president has published an expert assessment which says that the law violates the country's constitution, corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 7 June.

Interfax quoted Lukin's statement published on his official website as saying: "The study of the law has shown that the document is hasty and contradictory, lacking a strict concept or clear criteria." "Instead of developing the procedure for agreeing the terms of public events and increasing the responsibility of officials for declining to agree, the focus is on proscriptive and prescriptive measures," the statement goes on. It warns that this is "likely to lead to a rise in the number of un-agreed, radical and sometimes extremist rallies", while the widely expected future convictions of rally organizers will "rightly be seen by citizens as unlawful and sometimes repressive". All this will "only serve to aggravate the situation and strengthen the protest sentiment," Lukin warned, adding that he regarded the adoption of the law in its present form as "counterproductive" and advised that it should be returned to the relevant committee of the State Duma "for a more detailed and broader discussion with the involvement of the public".

A later Interfax report said the presidential council for human rights had completed the expert assessment of the law and published its findings on its official website. It quoted its statement saying: "The main flaw of the law is that it in effect provides for the criminalization of the procedure for using a basic constitutional right, the right to a peaceful gathering." The statement goes on: "The law does not conform to the Russian Constitution in the way it was passed (Article 104 Part 3 of the Russian Constitution was breached). The law does not conform to the Russian Constitution in terms of the content of its provisions (Article 31 of the Russian Constitution was breached)."

Interfax quoted the head of the council, Mikhail Fedotov, as saying that the experts' conclusions would be sent to the Russian president on 8 June.

The bill imposing harsher punishments on organizers of mass rallies in the event of any "violations" was drafted by MPs from the ruling One Russia (United Russia) party. It was passed by the State Duma late on 5 June despite attempts at filibustering by several opposition MPs, including the active participants in the recent street protests, Ilya Ponomarev, Gennadiy Gudkov and his son Dmitriy Gudkov, all from A Just Russia. The law was then approved by the Federation Council without any substantive discussion on 6 June. In accordance with procedure, it now has to be signed off by President Vladimir Putin to come into force.

Keywords: Russia, Protests, Politics - Russian News - Russia

Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has called for the new law on rallies to be sent back to the State Duma committee for revision, while the council for human rights under the Russian president has published an expert assessment which says that the law violates the country's constitution, corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 7 June.

Interfax quoted Lukin's statement published on his official website as saying: "The study of the law has shown that the document is hasty and contradictory, lacking a strict concept or clear criteria." "Instead of developing the procedure for agreeing the terms of public events and increasing the responsibility of officials for declining to agree, the focus is on proscriptive and prescriptive measures," the statement goes on. It warns that this is "likely to lead to a rise in the number of un-agreed, radical and sometimes extremist rallies", while the widely expected future convictions of rally organizers will "rightly be seen by citizens as unlawful and sometimes repressive". All this will "only serve to aggravate the situation and strengthen the protest sentiment," Lukin warned, adding that he regarded the adoption of the law in its present form as "counterproductive" and advised that it should be returned to the relevant committee of the State Duma "for a more detailed and broader discussion with the involvement of the public".

A later Interfax report said the presidential council for human rights had completed the expert assessment of the law and published its findings on its official website. It quoted its statement saying: "The main flaw of the law is that it in effect provides for the criminalization of the procedure for using a basic constitutional right, the right to a peaceful gathering." The statement goes on: "The law does not conform to the Russian Constitution in the way it was passed (Article 104 Part 3 of the Russian Constitution was breached). The law does not conform to the Russian Constitution in terms of the content of its provisions (Article 31 of the Russian Constitution was breached)."

Interfax quoted the head of the council, Mikhail Fedotov, as saying that the experts' conclusions would be sent to the Russian president on 8 June.

The bill imposing harsher punishments on organizers of mass rallies in the event of any "violations" was drafted by MPs from the ruling One Russia (United Russia) party. It was passed by the State Duma late on 5 June despite attempts at filibustering by several opposition MPs, including the active participants in the recent street protests, Ilya Ponomarev, Gennadiy Gudkov and his son Dmitriy Gudkov, all from A Just Russia. The law was then approved by the Federation Council without any substantive discussion on 6 June. In accordance with procedure, it now has to be signed off by President Vladimir Putin to come into force.