ProtectDefenders.eu has received reports on the systemic violation of human rights, in particular the right to a fair trial and access to health care in detention, against journalists and human rights defenders in the Russian Federation.
Our Consortium partner Front Line Defenders reported that on June 17, 2024, human rights defenders and journalists Roman Anin and Ekaterina Fomina were charged in absentia. They were charged with the alleged crime of spreading so-called “fake information” about the actions of Russian military personnel in Ukraine. The Court has issued an arrest warrant for both human rights defenders.
Roman Anin is a prominent human rights defender and journalist, the founder and editor-in-chief of iStories (Important Stories) media outlet, which publishes investigative pieces on Russia’s rampant corruption and various human rights violations. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, iStories have focused on investigating crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine. Ekaterina Fomina is a woman human rights defender and journalist, who has been collaborating with iStories among other media outlets. Her work focuses on women’s rights and gender equality, especially in the context of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On 10 January 2024, military investigators of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation launched a criminal case against Ekaterina Fomina for a publication concerning the crimes committed by the Russian military in Ukraine which she authored for iStories. Because of this piece, she was accused of spreading “fake information on the deployment of the Russian army and the state bodies’ execution of its powers”, which is a criminal offence in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Roman Anin stated that he is unaware of a criminal case against him, and assumes that he is being persecuted as an editor in editor-in-chief of iStories.
The case of the two defenders is not isolated. At the start of its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian authorities introduced new war-time censorship laws, aimed at silencing the voices of defenders, lawyers, and journalists that have been critical to the state policy of violence and occupation. Many other defenders have been prosecuted and arrested in the framework of this censorship law, such as Isabella Evloeva, Dmitry Talantov, Svetlana Anokhina, and Oleg Orlov, who was sentenced to 2 and a half years of prison time for repeated ‘discreditation’ of Russian armed forces.
ProtectDefenders.eu has also received worrying updates on the conditions of human rights defender and journalist Iryna Danylovych who exposes problems of the health care system in Crimea. It was reported that the WHRD has refused to participate in her upcoming appeals procedure due to her severely deteriorated health condition and the consistent lack of medical support she has faced throughout her detention in Crimea and Russia.
