AI: Russian Federation:
Racial intolerance must be stamped out
Amnesty International, Thu 17 Apr 2003
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: EUR 46/032/2003 (Public) News Service No: 93 17 April 2003
Amnesty International today called on the Russian authorities to take vigorous
measures to combat racism and promote tolerance and respect for difference
in order to stop the growing tide of attacks against ethnic minorities.
The organization is concerned for the safety of national and ethnic minorities
in Russia as the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth on 20 April approaches. In
previous years, this anniversary has been marked by an escalation of racially
motivated harassment and violence.
On 26 March 2003, a group of young people attacked and severely beat two African
students in Moscow. One of them was hospitalized. The Association of African students
in the Russian Federation called for speedy investigation of this crime and asked
for increased security around the students' compound as it feared more racist
attacks.
"Fear of racist attacks among Russia's minority population is not confined to
fear of 'skinheads'; they have almost as much to fear from officials," the organization
stated.
One July evening in 2002 a group of about 10 Russian men with shaven heads shouting
racist abuse brutally attacked African students, refugees and asylum seekers
who were picnicking in a Moscow park. Police nearby initially refused to come
to their help. When finally police arrived half an hour later, all but two of
the alleged attackers had left. One of the officers accused the picnickers of
starting the fight and ignored evidence forwarded by eyewitnesses. "Police
and other law enforcement officials routinely subject racial and ethnic
minorities to harassment and intimidation and often respond with indifference
to racist attacks. Victims of racist attacks frequently complain that law enforcement
officials are reluctant to register attacks as racist or fail to understand the
serious implications of racially-motivated violence. Police often advise the victims
to report the attack as 'hooliganism'," Amnesty International said "Until the
authorities address racist attitudes within law enforcement agencies, they will
continue to be part of the problem, rather than the solution."
Discrimination on the grounds of race is a reality for many members of ethnic
or national minority groups in the Russian Federation, warned Amnesty International
when it issued its latest report last month.
"Racism is an attack on the very notion of universal human rights. It systematically
denies certain people their full human rights because of their colour, race, ethnicity,
decent or national origin. The right to be free from racial discrimination is
a fundamental principle of human rights law," Amnesty International warned again.
Background
Racial attacks are often perpetrated by people with far-right sympathies, known
as 'skinheads'. According to the Russian Interior Ministry, there are approximately
20,000 'skinheads' in Russia and 2,500 in Moscow. The victims of racist
attacks include immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Africa, Asia, Central
Asia and the Caucasus, including ethnic Chechens. Members of the Jewish community
are also frequently subjected to racial harassment and assault, and synagogues
and Jewish community centres are often targeted.
Both President Putin and Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov have made public
statements that racist offences will not be tolerated and that those responsible
will be treated with the "maximum strictness allowed by law". In 2001, the authorities
initiated a five-year State Program on Tolerance and Prevention of Extremism
in Russian society which aims to change attitudes and practices that facilitate
discrimination on the grounds of race and religion.
For further information contact the Russia Campaign Press Officer Lydia Aroyo
on + 44 20 7413 5599 or +44 7798 555 629, e-mail: laroyo@amnesty.org.
Visit the Amnesty International Russia Campaign websites:
Amnesty International Russia press kit:
Public Document
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London,
UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW.