Yuliya Love-Kryuchkova Lynch
Perm Regional Human Rights Center
Perm, Russia
The employees of the Perm Regional Human Rights Center (PRHRC) went to the unpaid vacation for three weeks until Sepember 1st due to lack of funding. For now, I am working on translation of their web page. In a mean time, I have decided to seek alternative opinions about Human Rights in Perm.
The PRHRC is a social organization, which is funded by grants (mostly international). They support the people and often go against local government. As we all now the coin has two sides. So, I went to Ombudsman of the State Morgolina Tatiana to seek “government” view of the accessibility of the Human Rights in Perm. On August 11th, I visited Ombudsman’s office during the office hours, which are only twice a week, hoping to talk to her or to her assistance. I was interesting to ask particularly about human rights of prisoners. I called a day prior to the meeting to make sure that I would be able to talk to the Ombudsman.
I arrived 30 minutes earlier as I predicted that there will be many people waiting. I was surprised that there was no line at the door. I rang the bell; the secretary said that I should wait outside until 5 pm (30 more minutes). It was very hot, but I decided not to move. Not even two minutes passed by as about 10 people came to me saying that they were waiting in the shed. So, I was at the back of the line. Well, the door opened at 5 pm. By this time, you could fry an egg on my skin. But anyway, I told the secretary that I am here to see Ms. Margolina. She said that Ms. Margolina is out to the Conference and will not be able to meet with me. Then I asked for two other people (her assistants) that I was interesting to speak with. I got a reply that one of them was seek, another was on vacation. The secretary, offered me to talk to the Ombudsman of the State in Children’s Rights, but I had to wait since Mikov Pavel will not arrive until 6 pm. I waited and I when Mr. Mikov arrived, I asked his opinion about the accessibility of human rights, especially in colonies for children. Overall, he said that the situation is improving every year. They have many social projects and programs for convicted young people. He agreed that prisoners informed about their rights and have access to all literature they need. In a mean time, he admitted that sometimes, violations take place and an Institute of Ombudsman tries to prevent them and prosecute the violators. In is important to note that the Ombudsman’s office do not have any “real” power over the violation. Ombudsman can only give all of the materials to the prosecutors so that then they can investigate possible violation of the human rights and monitor the progress.
I, also, asked Mr. Mikov if I can see how the Ombudsman’s office works and have access to some of their files. He agreed to set a meeting with Ms. Morgolina for me on Monday, August 15th. I arrived at their office on time and we proceeded to the meeting with no delay. Ms. Morgolina asked me about my work and practice at the PRHRC. After all, she said that I have a lot to learn and agreed to show me their work starting September 5th for two weeks. In a same time, she told me to read the reports that they have on the web page and some other documents that her assistant will give to me. So, during the last two weeks in Russia, I will be working in the PRHRC and at the Ombudsman’s Office.
At this moment, I have decided that I have some time to get away. My husband and I will be traveling to Europe for one week (August 20-27). About the trip I will write in my next blog.