Protect the human rights activists in Russia – Demand from Medvedev an end to the series of murders and the clearing up of the crimes!

Dear Chancellor,

On behalf of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) I earnestly beg of you to demand energetically in your talks with the Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, on 14th August in Sochi an end to the series of murders against the defenders of human rights in Russia. Please set a sign also for public opinion in the world and give protection to these courageous activists for human and civil rights by publicly calling on the Russian President to clear up unequivocally the crimes committed.

Just a month ago Medvedev was a guest in Germany. During his stay the Chechnyan human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who had received several prizes, was murdered on 15th July. A week later Andrei Kulagin, a human rights activist from Karelia who had disappeared two months previously, was found dead. Last Monday (11th August) the human rights activist Sarema Sadulayeva and her husband Alik (Umar) Jabrailov were killed. We were particularly distraught at the death of Sarema Sadulayeva because she was a member of the „Chechnyan Civilian Forum” of our GfbV Swiss section.

We are sending you a long list with the most prominent names of the human rights activists and journalists murdered in Russia. We fear that this chain of violent crimes will continue unabated. If human rights activists do not keep silent they are killed.

Dear Chancellor, In July in spite of this appalling series of murders you encouraged the Russian President in his policies in that you said to him that you were sure that the murder of Natalya Estemirova would be cleared up. This statement was a shock for us. Experts on Russia and defenders of human rights in the Russian Federation take it for granted that the judicial authorities, the public prosecutor and those politically responsible have no interest in clearing up these murders. The murderers, who were clearly commissioned or tolerated by the executive, have had nothing to fear since no real prosecution is taking place.

The list of names we have drawn up is not complete. Too many journalists have been killed and often the deaths of less well-known human rights and civil rights activists have not hit the headlines or their bodies have still not been found. Please place our list in front of Mr Medvedev and make it clear to him that the German government cannot tolerate one of its partners handing over defenders of human rights to criminals. For a long time now in Russia defenders of human rights have been abducted, harassed, beaten up, tortured and committed to psychiatric institutions. Attempts are made to silence them by charges and trials.

Your Truly,

Tilman Zülch, President of the GfbV International

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