In the Russian Federation, the rise of xenophobia and racism affected the security of HRDs working on racism and reached its peak at the end of 2010 with a large demonstration of ultra-right wing groups in central Moscow and inter-ethnic clashes in a number of Russian cities. Defenders of environmental rights and LGBTI activists faced threats and physical attacks. In September 2010, several NGOs were subjected to mass unscheduled inspections by federal authorities on an unprecedented scale. Throughout the year, peaceful meetings organised by the civic initiative ‘Strategy 31’ in defence of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution (which guarantees freedom of assembly) were systematically dispersed by the police and demonstrators arrested.

The absence of the rule of law in the North Caucasus region affected the work and safety of HRDs attempting to investigate instances of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The brutality and the absence of any serious investigation into such crimes contributed to the strengthening of radical Islamist movements. Human rights work in the North Caucasus region remained very high risk and HRDs continued to receive serious threats including from state officials. In Chechnya, no progress was observed in the investigation into the killing of human rights defenders Natalia Estemirova, Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband Alik Dzhabrailov. In Daguestan, women human rights lawyers were threatened and assaulted by the police.

In Georgia, human rights defenders who work on the rights of political prisoners continued to receive threats and face police brutality during demonstrations. The Russian-Georgian war of August 2008 remains a particularly sensitive issue, and making public any information that did not fit the official version of events provoked reprisals against the authors who were labelled as unpatriotic.

Elections were held in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine. In Belarus, the December elections were followed by a severe crackdown on civil society. Several HRDs remain in detention at the time of writing. In Ukraine, the human rights situation started to deteriorate after the presidential election of February 2010. Press freedom was restricted and several human rights defenders received threats and were assaulted. Disappointingly, Ukraine no longer maintains its previously strong leadership role in relation to the protection of human rights.

In Kyrgyzstan, after the departure of ousted President Bakiev, many people were the victims of inter-ethnic violence in clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups in June in the south of the country. Unfortunately there was no effective intervention of the authorities to protect civilians. The criminal investigations launched after the events were not independent nor effective, court proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards and resulted in the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment on Azimjan Askarov, a prominent HRD. The situation in the south remained dangerous for ethnic Uzbeks and the human rights defenders protecting them. Threats, insults and physical attacks, including on lawyers in courtrooms, have become the daily routine for human rights activists.

In 2010, the Government in Kazakhstan further tightened control over the independent media, NGOs and civil society, and initiated politically motivated lawsuits against critical voices. HRDs working on social rights were beaten by the police and arrested. Evgeniy Zhovtis, one of the key figures in the human rights movement and director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, remains in detention despite intense international pressure for his release.

Fortunately, Armenia abandoned a proposed legislative amendment which was under consideration in late 2009 and which would have introduced strict government control over NGOs. Despite this positive development, the environment remains restrictive: freedom of press remains limited, human rights activists and independent journalists continue to be threatened and attacked.

Turkmenistan continued to hold the worst human rights record in the region. Any kind of human rights work remained banned and independent journalists are closely monitored by the authorities. The Internet remained under state control. The repression even reached Turkmen human rights activists in exile to the extent that the Turkmen delegation to the OSCE tried to prevent HRDs from participating in OSCE meetings. Front Line received reliable reports of serious threats received by Turkmen HRDs living in European countries.

Of extreme concern also was the situation for HRDs in Uzbekistan, where at least 16 human rights defenders continue to serve long prison sentences in harsh conditions. Human rights groups and international bodies have no access to the prisons and information about the health and conditions of detention of HRDs is very limited. Most of them continued to receive formal warnings from the prison administration for alleged violations of internal prison rules, which resulted in their exclusion from the annual presidential amnesty. Other HRDs were sentenced to prison terms during the year in complete disregard for fair trial guarantees. Peaceful human rights demonstrations remained banned and unauthorised peaceful demonstrations were forcefully dispersed.