Russian Federation: Judicial harassment of human rights defender Mr Konstantin Baranov

Human rights defender Mr Konstantin Baranov received a written warning from the office of the prosecutor in Rostov-on-Don on 19 February 2010 in relation to what is referred to as his “extremist behaviour”, which may lead to legal proceedings against him and his organisation.

Further Information

Konstantin Baranov is the head of the Rostov branch of the public youth organisation, Molodaya Evropa (Young Europe) and a member of the international Youth Human Rights Movement. Young Europe is an international network of organisations from Western and Eastern Europe and Central Asia that promotes European values such as tolerance, inter-cultural exchanges and human rights.

Konstantin Baranov monitors xenophobia and hate crimes for a project led by the Moscow Helsinki Group and Youth Human Rights Movement in the Rostov region, one of the most popular places for neo-Nazi gatherings in the Russian Federation. He is also the author of the report on xenophobia and discrimination “Xenophobia and Discrimination in the Rostov Region in 2008. A Report on the Results of Human Rights Monitoring”, which was published in April 2009. Front Line previously issued an appeal in relation to threats against Konstantin Baranov on 27 July 2009.

On 19 February 2010, Konstantin Baranov received the aforementioned written warning, dated 9 February 2010, in relation to his 2009 report on xenophobia and discrimination. The warning comes following a six month long examination of the report by the office of the prosecutor at the request of the local department of education, and advises Konstantin Baranov not to disseminate the report within educational institutions in the region. Such warnings have previously been used in other regions, including in Nizhny Novgorod and Novorossijsk, to initiate legal proceedings in order to dissolve human rights organisations.

The written warning referred to Konstantin Baranov's “extremist behaviour” and stated that the inclusion of contact details for the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) in the report could encourage young people to join the party. It also stated that copies of the report were found in one of Rostov's colleges and that the report should not be distributed in educational institutions. It is worth noting that the NBP contact details published in the report were taken from open and generally accessible sources and that, while copies of the report were sent to regional and municipal authorities in the region, the report was not disseminated in schools and universities.

This warning has already been used by the media in the region to label Konstantin Baranov as an "extremist" and to discredit his human rights activities. Konstantin Baranov has expressed his intention to appeal against this warning.

Konstantin Baranov has been targeted as a result of his human rights activities for some time now. In July 2009, his name, personal address, homepage and mobile phone number were published on the web page of one of the members of 'Slavic Union', an ultra right-wing movement, with an appeal to ”all right-wing people of Rostov” to respond to Baranov “adequately”. Since then, Konstantin Baranov has received multiple threats against him.

Front Line believes that Konstantin Baranov is being targeted as a result of his human rights activities, in particular his work to combat xenophobia and discrimination in the Rostov Region. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Konstantin Baranov.