Photo: Echo of Moscow

• Prisoners  Political prisoners  Freedom of conscience  Artistic freedom  Harassment of activists

Human rights defenders are asking the head of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers in Russia, Evgeny Semenyako, to take action over violations of the rights of lawyers acting for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Pussy Riot music group. They also call on him to take other steps to protect the rights of lawyers in Russia. Since 30 September Tolokonnikova’s lawyers have not been allowed to meet their client.

On 8 October an appeal to this effect was sent to Evgeny Semenyako by Agora Human Rights Association.

– At present Nadezhda Tolokonnikova needs the legal support of lawyers, since she is not only someone sentenced to a term in prison, but is an applicant in relation to a crime she alleges has been committed against her by officials at penal colony No. 14 in the Republic of Mordovia’, the appeal to the Federal Chamber of Lawyers reads. ‘The investigation by the Investigative Committee into her allegation has not yet been completed.’

Since 29 September Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been held at prison medical facility No. 21 in the village of Barashevo, Mordovia. The lawyers acting for Tolokonnikova have attempted several times to meet with her. However, since 30 September the head of the medical facility Oleg Klishkov has ‘unlawfully refused to allow Tolokonnikova any meetings, including those with her lawyers’, the appeal states.

On 3 October the local lawyer acting for Tolokonnikova was refused a meeting with her. On 7 October Agora’s lawyer Dmitry Dinze was refused a meeting with her. On 2 and 3 October without any grounds Agora’s lawyer Irina Khrunova was refused telephone conversations with Tolokonnikova over a prison phone.

The human rights defenders point out that all these lawyers had previously met with their client on numerous occasions, and the official document certifying that Tolokonnikova had asked them to act on her behalf are in Tolokonnikova’s case file.

Head of the institution Oleg Klishkov says that there are medical reasons for the refusal to allow Tolonnikova to meet her lawyers. Agora is convinced that there is no basis for the refusal since on 1 October State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev was allowed to visit her ‘which proves that it is possible for other people to visit Tolokonnikova, and there are no grounds to cite the health of Tolokonnikova as a reason for refusing a visit.

At the beginning of September Agora and RosUznik published a report about the violation of the rights of lawyers in Russia. In questioning 31 lawyers from 10 Russian regions, the human rights defenders identified 96 violations of this kind. On 6 September Agora appealed to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, asking him to study the report and take measures against the Ministry of Justice for violating the rights of lawyers. Moreover, human rights defenders sent the report to the minister of justice, Aleksandr Konovalov, together with proposals on improving the legislation. Agora has asked the president of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers, Evgeny Semenyako, to support these proposals, and have also sent him a copy of the report.