RU

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

Attorney General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov

Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Konstantin Chuychenko

Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev

Chairmаn of the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Bastrykin

Chairman of the Civil Society Development and Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation Valery Fadeev

Human rights ombudsman of the Russian Federation Tatiana Moskalkova

Council of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation

On May 20-21, 2020, in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of Russia, extraordinary events occurred with lawyers on duty providing legal assistance.

On May 20, 2020, lawyer Ratmir Zhilokov was detained and forcibly taken by police officers to the building of the municipal Police Department "Urvansky" in Nartkala (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of Russia).

The lawyer said that on May 20 he provided legal assistance to his principal. The assistance consisted of the need for a lawyer to participate in the inspection by the police of the non-residential premises belonging to the principal. In the presence of several police officers the lawyer asked police officer to submit a written order to inspect the premises, and received a reply that there was no order and that the inspection would be based on the oral order of the head of the Police Department for the Urvansky District of Nartkala, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of Russia, Rоdion Shogenov. After that, the principal informed the lawyer that a man was threatening to detain the principal and deliver him to the department for 15 days. Then an unknown man in black clothes with the major’s bows approached the lawyer — later it turned out to be an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rustem Nogoyev — who “rested on the lawyer’s forehead with his forehead and began to threaten”. The lawyer asked the police officer to maintain a physical distance, after which Mr. Nogoyev grabbed the lawyer by the hand, starting to wring behind his back. Then the other officers joined the police officer, wrung the lawyer’s hands, handcuffed him and delivered him to the police department.

On the night of May 20-21, 2020, the Urvansky Police Department in the city of Nartkala to provide legal assistance to lawyer Ratmir Zhilokov, who had been kept in this police department for several hours without drawing up documents, had arrived lawyers Natalya Magova, Diana Tsipinova and Lyudmila Kochesokova. Lawyers were allowed into the building of the police department, but then they refused to let them go to their client and colleague. As seen from the videos, the lawyers in a brutal form were forcibly tried to push out of the police department. As a result, police officers illegally detained the lawyer Tsipinova, shackled the lawyer in 2 (two) pairs of handcuffs, seized personal phone from the lawyer Tsipinova, which contained information constituting a lawyer's secret and confidentiality of correspondence, removed video materials confirming the fact of violation of professional rights of lawyers. At the same time, the head of the police department promised the lawyer Diana Tsipinova, among other things: “Here you are, storming the door to get inside, we will now let you in and gang-bang you”.

It was possible to release some of the lawyers from the police department only a few hours later. Only after the intervention of the Russian Interior Ministry’s internal security service in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, two pairs of handcuffs were removed from lawyer Diana Tsipinova, and an emergency was called to the lawyer to provide emergency medical care, which was required as a result of the physical and psychological violence suffered by the lawyer. Then, criminal cases were instituted against lawyers Ratmir Zhilokov and Diana Tsipinova under Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“The use of violence not dangerous to life or health, or the threat of violence against a representative of the authorities”). After the violence against lawyers received all-Russian publicity, lawyers R. Zhilokov and D. Tsipinova were again detained on May 28, 2020, and as of May 30, 2020 they are being held in a temporary detention center. An attorney Zhilokov conducts night investigative actions.

The practice of unjustified criminal prosecution of citizens on charges of using violence against law enforcement officers that is not dangerous to their life and health is increasingly used by unscrupulous law enforcement officers. This practice has nothing to do with the principles of legality, justice and humanism enshrined in the Constitution of Russia, in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Frequent cases of the spread of such practices to prosecute lawyers are unacceptable.

Lawyers are persons who, in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, have the obligation to protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the Russian Federation. The role of lawyers in upholding and maintaining acceptable standards of justice cannot be overestimated.

Nevertheless, systematic widespread cases of gross violation of the professional rights of Russian lawyers are not uncommon, and the number of such cases has been growing rapidly in recent years, while remaining without proper attention from the executive and judicial authorities, as well as from law enforcement authorities.

However, even against the sad background of systematic gross violations of the professional rights of lawyers at the preliminary investigation stage and in court, the growing number of unfounded accusations of lawyers for criminal offenses, including, according to Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, represents an increased public danger. Such a method of exerting pressure on lawyers in connection with their professional activities threatens not only the rights of a particular lawyer and his client, but also jeopardizes the very constitutional right of citizens to defense.

• We believe that this practice of criminal prosecution of lawyers in connection with professional activities should be immediately and decisively stopped;
• that lawyers subjected to such prosecution should be immediately released, with the removal of the charge of crime and the right to rehabilitation;
• that law enforcement officers who are guilty of abuse of their official powers, of barring lawyers from being held by a client, of using violence against lawyers, should be established during an objective investigation and be punished in accordance with applicable law.

Expressing extreme concern about what happened, and condemning the practice of unjustified use of violence against lawyers in professional activities on the part of law enforcement officials;

Opposing the prosecution of lawyers on a professional basis;

in order to prevent reprisals against lawyers under the pretext of criminal prosecution;

to preserve the institution of advocacy in Russia as an important and necessary element of a legal democratic society, in order to increase citizens' trust in police officers:

• we demand the immediate release of the detained lawyers R. Zhilokov and D. Tsipinova, and the removal of charges against them under part 1 of article 318;
• we demand an objective investigation of all the circumstances of the use of violence against lawyers Ratmir Zhilokov, Natalya Magova, Diana Tsipinova and Lyudmila Kochesokova in connection with their professional, constitutionally determined activities to protect the rights of citizens on May 20-21, 2020;
• we demand from the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation immediate concrete practical actions to protect the lawyers Diana Tsipinova and Ratmir Zhilokov;
• we demand the development, together with representatives of the lawyer community, and the subsequent legislative consolidation of the methods of legal regulation of interference in the lawyer's activity, including the consolidation in law of a lawyer's right to unhindered access to clients to provide legal assistance when introducing special plans and special regimes for law enforcement officials (quarantines, “Krepost" [Fortress] plans, etc.), and criminal liability for obstructing the professional activities of a lawyer.

The rights of lawyers do not exist on their own, but only in connection with the protection of the rights of citizens. Today, lawyers need help and protection.

We urge the lawyer community in Russia and around the world, as well as people who believe in the rule of law, to show solidarity with Russian lawyers who have been subjected to violence and criminal prosecution in connection with professional activities to protect the rights of citizens.

lawyer Yuri Kostanov

lawyer Yuri Larin

lawyer Alexander Pikhovkin