Human Rights Activists Are Obliged to Respect the Rights of Victims. Cases of Unlawful Violence May Not Always Be Made Public
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Memorial.Rus
May 23, 2012, 4:32:30 AM5/23/12
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Human Rights Activists Are Obliged to Respect the Rights of
Victims. Cases of Unlawful Violence May Not Always Be Made
Public
On May 20, 2012, at the conference of non-governmental organisations taking place in Makhachkala, Dagestan, the “Caucasus Forum”, several of its participants criticised the work of employees of the Human Rights Center “Memorial”. The Head of the organisation “Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights”, Svetlana Isaeva, informed those present that on the previous day, during disturbances outside the building of the Kirovsky police department in Makhachkala, a journalist was beaten. According to Isaeva, the journalist was attacked by women in hijabs because she looked different from those present (she was in trousers and her hair was uncovered).
“Employees from the HRC “Memorial” were there and they described to the media in detail the detention of their colleague [Sirazhutdin Datsiev, detained by police, HRC “Memorial”] but not one word was said of the attack on the journalist. Why did “Memorial” do nothing to help her?”
We too are obliged to explain publicly our position.
Our employee, who was outside the Kirovsky police department on May 19, did indeed witness this hideous event. He was not an indifferent observer, but, on the contrary, gave the victim first aid and immediately reported the incident to his colleagues in Moscow. The Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Center at once contacted the journalist in order personally to clarify the situation and to take action. However, the girl repeatedly and emphatically requested that neither the fact that she had come to harm, nor the attack itself, be reported to the media. In subsequent discussions with members of the HRC “Memorial”, she repeated these pleas.
Members of human rights organisations are obliged to comply with professional ethics in relation to any victim of unlawful violence. Now and again, in compliance with the wishes of the victim, we are forced not to reveal information on an attack, be it to state agencies, or any other authorities. The HRC “Memorial” is currently in contact with the victim, discussing her options for psychological and physical rehabilitation, recovery of lost property, and the resolution of the conflict caused by this incident.
The attack on this journalist cannot be justified, but we believe it is important to clarify that it was caused not by her appearance but by the fact that she was attempting to do her job – to film the confrontation between the crowds and police.
May 23, 2012
On May 20, 2012, at the conference of non-governmental organisations taking place in Makhachkala, Dagestan, the “Caucasus Forum”, several of its participants criticised the work of employees of the Human Rights Center “Memorial”. The Head of the organisation “Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights”, Svetlana Isaeva, informed those present that on the previous day, during disturbances outside the building of the Kirovsky police department in Makhachkala, a journalist was beaten. According to Isaeva, the journalist was attacked by women in hijabs because she looked different from those present (she was in trousers and her hair was uncovered).
“Employees from the HRC “Memorial” were there and they described to the media in detail the detention of their colleague [Sirazhutdin Datsiev, detained by police, HRC “Memorial”] but not one word was said of the attack on the journalist. Why did “Memorial” do nothing to help her?”
We too are obliged to explain publicly our position.
Our employee, who was outside the Kirovsky police department on May 19, did indeed witness this hideous event. He was not an indifferent observer, but, on the contrary, gave the victim first aid and immediately reported the incident to his colleagues in Moscow. The Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Center at once contacted the journalist in order personally to clarify the situation and to take action. However, the girl repeatedly and emphatically requested that neither the fact that she had come to harm, nor the attack itself, be reported to the media. In subsequent discussions with members of the HRC “Memorial”, she repeated these pleas.
Members of human rights organisations are obliged to comply with professional ethics in relation to any victim of unlawful violence. Now and again, in compliance with the wishes of the victim, we are forced not to reveal information on an attack, be it to state agencies, or any other authorities. The HRC “Memorial” is currently in contact with the victim, discussing her options for psychological and physical rehabilitation, recovery of lost property, and the resolution of the conflict caused by this incident.
The attack on this journalist cannot be justified, but we believe it is important to clarify that it was caused not by her appearance but by the fact that she was attempting to do her job – to film the confrontation between the crowds and police.
May 23, 2012
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