Amnesty International Report 1994 - Russia

At least two men were jailed for refusing on conscientious grounds to perform compulsory military service, but were later given suspended sentences on appeal. They were prisoners of conscience. Scores of possible prisoners of conscience were believed to have been released following the amendment in April of a law punishing consensual, adult homosexual acts. There were numerous allegations of ill-treatment in police and military custody, and in the armed forces. At least six people were said to have died following such ill-treatment. New legislation reduced the scope and application of the death penalty, but over 500 people were under sentence of death during the year and at least one was executed. Asylum-seekers who faced serious human rights violations in their home countries were said to be among those expelled from the Moscow area in October. Political life was dominated by the conflict between President Boris Yeltsin and parliament over the pace and direction of reforms, and over the division of powers between the legislature and the executive. After months of disagreement President Yeltsin dissolved parliament in September, and called fresh elections for both houses of a remodelled bicameral legislature. Some parliamentarians resisted these moves, and the tense situation culminated at the beginning of October in armed clashes in Moscow. Over 100 people died before government forces regained control, and the Vice-President and parliamentary speaker were among those arrested for "organizing mass disorders". President Yeltsin declared a two-week state of emergency in the city, and almost 10,000 people without residence permits were expelled from the Moscow area. Elections to the new-style parliament took place in December. Legal moves aimed at strengthening human rights continued. In February Russia acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, although officials acknowledged that lack of resources hampered its implementation. In April an amendment to the law against sodomy (Article 121 of the Criminal Code) decriminalized consensual adult homosexual acts, and government sources reported that all those convicted solely of such activity would be released. The scope and application of the death penalty were also reduced by criminal code amendments in April. Article 73 (which carried a possible death sentence for "especially dangerous crimes against the state committed against another working people's state") was abolished, and men over 65 and all women were exempted from the death penalty. However, the amendments also widened the grounds for which the death penalty could be imposed for premeditated murder. The amendments increased from 11 to 13 the number of "aggravating circumstances" under which a death sentence could be passed. In July new legislation introduced the right to trial by jury in capital cases. After years of discussion a new constitution was finally passed following a referendum in December. Among its provisions was the right to a civilian alternative to compulsory military service for conscientious objectors. However, by the end of the year the necessary legislation to introduce such an alternative had still not been passed. The lack of such a law had already resulted in the imprisonment of at least two conscientious objectors earlier in the year, although the previous constitution had also guaranteed the right to an alternative service. In separate trials in Moscow, pacifists Aleksandr Chizhikov and Oleg Astashkin received sentences of 12 and 24 months' imprisonment respectively for refusing their call-up papers. Both were given suspended sentences on appeal and released - Aleksandr Chizhikov in May just over a month after his trial, and Oleg Astashkin in June, after more than seven months under arrest. Scores of possible prisoners of conscience were believed to have been released following the decriminalization in April of consensual homosexual acts between adult men. The Interior Ministry had reported in July that there were still 73 men imprisoned solely for such activity, but the stigmatization of offenders continued to make it difficult to obtain details about individuals and about the progress of releases. Numerous allegations of ill-treatment indicated that beatings in police and military custody, and of conscripts in the armed forces, were systematic and widespread. At least six people were said to have died following such ill-treatment. For example, a member of an investigatory commission set up following the deaths of four sailors from the Pacific Fleet in January reported that the four had suffered from malnutrition, and died after being forced to perform heavy manual tasks. Two were said to have been beaten shortly before their deaths. One of the dead, Seaman Danilov, had apparently had to have his fingers amputated after being compelled to work outdoors in freezing temperatures without gloves, and to have been beaten by other recruits with a crowbar before hospitalization. Press and other sources have long reported that conscripts faced beatings, sometimes fatal, and other ill-treatment by longer-serving recruits, and that this practice was frequently condoned by those in authority. Ill-treatment in custody was also reported to be widespread and after the October events in Moscow scores of people were said to have been beaten following detention by police or army units. Amur Yusupov, for example, reported that five policemen kicked him and beat him with their fists and truncheons in the security unit of the Moscow Hotel on 8 October. He also reported that the police called an ambulance only after he had signed a statement to say he had no complaints against them. Amur Yusupov received hospital treatment for concussion and a fracture of the left shoulder blade. According to the Interior Ministry, 505 prisoners were under sentence of death at the end of August, but no statistics were known to have been issued for the full year. At least one execution took place after a petition for clemency by Kazbek Kokayev, sentenced to death for murder in 1990, was turned down in May. Among those expelled from the Moscow area in October were said to be a number of asylum-seekers from republics of the former Soviet Union who faced serious human rights violations if returned to their home countries. Others, who did not have residence permits because of delays in processing their asylum applications, alleged that police officers extorted large sums of money from them in order not to deport them from Russia. Amnesty International called on the government to release all people imprisoned for their conscientious objection to compulsory military service, and urged the introduction of a civilian alternative of non-punitive length. It welcomed decriminalization of consensual adult homosexual acts, and sought assurances that all those imprisoned for such activity had been released. Amnesty International repeatedly expressed concern about allegations of ill-treatment, urging that all such reports be investigated swiftly and impartially, with the results made public and any perpetrators brought to justice. The organization welcomed the reduction in the scope and application of the death penalty, but throughout the year continued to urge the authorities to commute all death sentences and to take concrete steps towards total abolition. Amnesty International called on the authorities to ensure that no asylum-seekers were returned to countries where they could face human rights violations, and that their cases were considered thoroughly and swiftly in the light of international standards on the protection of refugees.