Press-relase: Pressure on “GOLOS” has increased

As the result of such “talks”, on November 30th three of “GOLOS” regional representatives in Krasnoyarsk have resigned. Members of Association’s Central Office have been unable to reach them since.

On November 30th Dmitry Krayuhin, “GOLOS” member and well-known human rights activist in Oriol has been arrested when approaching the office. A man with a mobile phone in his hands approached him yelling, “Help!” and pushed Mr. Krayuhin into the snow. Police has appeared almost the same minute and detained “GOLOS” activist for attempting to steal the phone. When in the local department of internal affairs Dmitry Krayuhin refused to sign the protocol and demanded a lawyer, the authorities declined his request and forbid him to use the telephone. On December 1st “GOLOS” member has been brought to the court and accused of attacking a citizen and using obscene expressions. “GOLOS” members note, that Dmitry Krayuhin is well-known for never using such expressions. “GOLOS” will report on the court’s decision.

“GOLOS” representatives in Samara report that Association’s local representative, coordinator of voter education project Ilya Samorukov has been detained and charged with not obeying the requests of police. Although Zheleznodorozhny district court ruled that he should remain detained for 15 days, Mr.Samorukov has been let go after promising not to conduct any election-monitoring activities on the 2nd of December. It must be reminded that “GOLOS” inter-regional organization in Samara has been closed and its executive director – Lyudmila Kuzmina, is required to remain in Samara as a prime suspect in the criminal case of using illegal software.

In Irkutsk local TV channel has broadcasted discrediting information about “GOLOS” and its activities and regional coordinator now fells that it is unsafe to organize election monitoring on Sunday. In Voronezh regional “GOLOS” coordinator Natalya Zvyagina has been “invited” for an interview with local law-enforcing authorities. She has refused the request because no official documents obliging her to come have been provided.

“GOLOS” Association has already sent an open letter about the situation with regional activists to Chairman of the Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Council Ella Pamfilova, CEC Chairman Vladimir Churov and RF Ombudsman Vladimir Litvin. We are asking all media representatives to spread this information.

GOLOS” (www.golos.org) is an independent Russian civic organization founded in 2000 to defend voters’ rights and contribute to the development of the civic society in Russia. “GOLOS” has a largest and most geographically widespread election monitoring network in the country (it unites 281 NGO and has offices in 40 regions). “GOLOS” has monitored more than 50 elections (from municipal to regional), including 2 federal campaigns, and trained over 15 000 independent observers all over the country. “GOLOS” issues statements covering the results of its election observation, including messages from its hot-line “Transparent Elections” (http://88003333350.ru), and gives its assessment to the various stages of the electoral process in Russia using international standards of Free and Fair elections and Russian Election Law. In 2006 “GOLOS” has been invited to join Coordination Council in defense of voters’ rights under the Public Chamber of Russian Federation.