BERLIN. Feb 11 (Interfax) - Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic has sent a letter to Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in which she highlighted a number of human rights concerns related to the policing of demonstrations that had taken place in many Russian cities over the last few weeks.
"I am concerned by the unprecedented number of individuals apprehended all across Russia during demonstrations in recent days. According to the independent project OVD-Info focusing on the monitoring of assemblies, on January 23 the law enforcement authorities apprehended no less than 4,033 individuals, including 49 journalists, across 125 Russian cities," Mijatovic said in the letter published on Thursday.
"On January 31 at least 5,754 protesters, including 91 journalists, were apprehended in 86 cities all over the country. During the evening of February 2 alone, the Russian authorities reportedly apprehended at least 1,463 individuals in ten cities," she said citing OVD-Info data.
According to observers and human rights activists, "law enforcement officials carried out arbitrary arrests during the protests irrespective of the behavior of the demonstrators concerned," she said.
"In this regard, I would like to respectfully request clarifications and your comments about the Ministry of Interior's policy, methods and guidelines concerning the dispersal of peaceful assemblies and the deprivation of peaceful demonstrators' liberty. I would also like to receive clarifications as to the reasons for the arrests of journalists and media workers reporting on those rallies, as these constitute serious restrictions of freedom of expression and media freedom as guaranteed in the ECHR," she said.
Mijatovic said she "was particularly dismayed to receive numerous reports of excessive use of force and violence against peaceful protesters by servicemen exercising public authority during those demonstrations." She referred to human rights NGOs, which recorded at least 132 cases where individuals including a dozen journalists, six were beaten or sustained injuries, including serious ones, such as broken bones, concussions and loss of consciousness.
"Furthermore, a number of open sources report that police did not secure the rights of those detained in dozens of Russian cities in the context of these protests. One of the most commonly reported issues was the refusal to provide legal or medical assistance to persons in detention," the letter said.
Mijatovic said she "would appreciate receiving information about any action taken by the Russian authorities to ensure accountability of law enforcement officers for any cases of arbitrary use of force or any other human rights violations committed against demonstrators during the rallies or afterwards."
"I stand ready to provide any assistance, in accordance with my mandate, to promote the effective implementation of Council of Europe standards related to human rights protection, and I look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with you," the commissioner said.
Unauthorized demonstrations in support of opposition activist Alexei Navalny were held across Russia, including in Moscow, on January 23, January 31, and February 2.
After the demonstrations, law enforcement authorities opened a number of criminal cases, including those on counts of a breach of sanitary and epidemiological requirements, violence against persons in authority, and hooliganism.