Source: HRO.org (info), 08/11/11 

· Human Rights Defenders  · Ministry of Internal Affairs  · Marii El 

The international project “Police Stations Visitors’ Week” by Altus, an independent association of NGOs, has practically come to an end in the republic of Marii El. The project was approved by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and has been taking place successfully over the last two years in the Republic of Marii El, along with tens of countries and hundreds of towns across Russia. This year, unfortunately, the human rights organisation Individual and the Law, which acts as the project coordinator in the Republic of Marii El, received an official refusal from the leadership of the Marii El Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

The main aim of the initiative is to increase the level of public trust towards law-enforcement agencies and to create a positive image of the police. President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has spoken time and again of the importance of increasing the level of openness of the police force. Unfortunately, in practice it turns out that these calls are of a purely declarative nature. One of the initiator’s of the Police Stations’ Visitors Week in Russia is the Federal Human Rights Ombudsman. Two years’ running the Ombudsman asked the regional NGO Individual and the Law to coordinate the project in the Republic of Marii El. The human rights defenders sent the corresponding letter signed by Vladimir Lukin to the Marii El Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry, for its part, determined which they considered to be the best police stations and worked up a schedule for visiting them. [Read more]