Yuliya Lynch

Yuliya Love-Kryuchkova Lynch
Perm Regional Human Rights Center
Perm, Russia

Today, Monday, September 5, I started my work with ombudsman of the Perm region Margolina Tatiana I. For the next two weeks I will be working with her and her team full-time and continue to work part-time for PRHRC. As I am interested in abuse of power and ineffective respond from the authorities, I will be working more closely with Shevchenko Dmity A. Ombudsman protects people by helping them seek justice in agencies. Ombudsman doesn’t have any real power.

This morning, we had a weekly staff meeting. I really liked the way Ombudsman talked about the problems: not formally, but business. She asked about results and told the staff what to do next, if problems continue to exist. She wasn’t afraid to say that our local government continue to behave illegally and unethical. Many the same problems I heard in PRPC and it is nice to know that many organizations try to solve them at once. Many people complain about promised apartments, closure of school for children with disabilities, and abuse of power by police and prosecutors.

However, I have to mention that at that meeting I felt highly uncomfortable. Ms. Margolina didn’t acknowledge me or introduced to the staff. Most people of the staff ignored me and even weren’t friendly when I asked if I could borrow someone’s electronic key to use a restroom. Yes! You have to have a key to go the restroom: regular practice in Russia.

September 6th. Mr. Shevchenko, who was nice to me the day before did not look so friendly today. He spoke with Ms. Morgolina last night and somehow changed his attitude. I am here only second day, but feeling that everyone is against me. Anyway, I intend to do what I planned here. Nonetheless, I am gaining some knowledge about the system by talking to Mr. Shevchenko and Ms. Cepennikova (my official supervisor).

The other thing that I have to mention is the effectiveness of the work. They all said that they have lots of work and it is almost impossible to done it all. Let me tell you about their work. Most of the staff will come around 9.15 then they drink tea until 10 am. Then they work, which includes checking personal email, playing games, chat, etc. Also, they able to talk to each other about their personal staff in between. With all the work they have I expect them to work, but as we say in Russia it is government. I cannot say anything about work of Ms. Margolina or Mr. Mikov as we stay in different offices.

Day third, Ms. Morgoloina walked in into our office (she has her own) and said hello to her assistant, but didn’t even look at me. Is it that difficult to say “hello”? I am not sure what have I done to her or her staff that they treat me so badly.

11 am I went to the social hearing “Participation of the democratic society in anticorruption politics”. Let’s start from the beginning, when I came to the reception to register, I wasn’t on the list. However, an assistance of Ms. Morgolina said I can go and will have no problem. Well, they did let me in, but Ms. Morgolina didn’t let the reception know that I am coming as she supposed to. Then the meeting started late as everybody was waiting for an ombudsman. The forum was about participation of people, but no outsider could actually go in.

Ms. Morgolina started the discussion. I liked her report as she was telling about the facts. For example, she was arguing that agencies are very closed to outsiders and do not publish statistic. She said that our government doesn’t respond to corruption and abuse of power.

Then an investigation department said that they had only 29 complains for the past year on corruption and citizens and companies address the agency only if the bribes are too high. Agency said that our society wants to give bribes. They also agreed that people should be more educated and informed.

The PRHRC gave a couple vivid examples of corruption in our city. For example, that trash in forests is a bag habit and why the government allows it and not cleans the green area is a question that no one can answer. The other example is that forest areas in Verhnia Kuria (where I live) and Sumskaja zone of recreation were sold by the government to a private party for the building purposes. By law these forest sections are not for sale, but for the all citizens to use. Next question that Mr. Ushrov Roman Avenirovich talked about was historical building that supposed to be repaired, but currently they in very bad condition.

The prosecution agency stated that they monitor work of procedural bodies and functions of laws. Moreover, they said that for the past half a year they prosecuted 350 officials, from whom they put to prison 12. However, they said that they don’t have their own investigation team and they don’t have a power to initiate criminal cases. They also agreed that in our country both parties of corruption operation usually happy. Russia has a problem of anticorruption education, people don’t know what rights they have and how to fight corruption.

One of the human rights activists from Krasnocamsk, Perm Region stated that in their small city/village local government create chaos and do anything they want. Local officials do not filled out their tax forms and monopolize business structures.

The financial department said that they have only control function and cannot establish a cause-effect relationship. This is work of law enforcement agency.

Consumer protection agency said that they published methodical instructions “Help yourself” and “Corruption in utilities service area” («защити себя сам», «коррупция в жилищнокоммунальной сфере»). They also agreed that laws must be for citizens, but without special education it is almost impossible to understand the laws. For example, law about utilities has complicated formulas and most people cannot understand how their bill is calculated.

Administration of the gubernator said that they are an open structure and publish all the reports. The press secretary of gubernator said that they are active in anticorruption politics in Perm Region. They have a working group that fights corruption. He also noted that half of all citizens do not know where to go if corruption occurs. However, when I checked their webpage I found very limited amount of reports and no statistic.

The other participants said that Russia needs to “clean” its laws to make them more adequate. Citizens must be informed about their rights and how to stand up against corruption. The punishment for corruption should be for both parties and not only for the one, who takes bribe. Here, I have to note that there is a punishment for the side, who gave the bribe, if he/she already gained the positive result for whatever the bribe was given. Maybe that is why, people are not very active in reporting the crimes. The speakers also noted that education in the corruption area must be provided for young people. Web pages of the agencies should be up to date, so citizens can be informed. Perm doesn’t have enough free legal assistance and this would really help in education of anticorruption practices.

The agencies have vague functions and it may be difficult to understand what agency should do what. For the past years, the number of officials increased by three times. People are afraid to complaint about corruption because after agencies will investigate them. The punishment for corruption is not adequate. For example, there is no life sentence and full confiscation of property as punishment. The government agencies are very closed to outsiders. They do not publish any statistic. Salaries of officials are small so as pensions. The system supports corruption. Political parties support its candidates and then, if she wins the election expect financial support.

Thursday and Friday were a little bit better that the beginning of the week. People start to notice me and occasionally say “Hi”, but mostly still ignored me. I did some analytical work for Shevchenko D. He might work more that everyone else from the staff. He comes early, answers the phone, gives consultations, and works with statistic. He gave me valuable information and treats me with some respect. Although, he talks to me in a “you” format. Well, let me back up. In Russia, there is a way to appeal to person “you-tu” and “you-vu in respected way”. So, if this is your relative, a friend, younger person, colleague in a smaller position, or a person with a smaller social status then you would appeal to him as “tu” and not “vu”. So, if Mr. Shevchenko talks to me with “tu”, which means that he doesn’t respect me as I am not his relative or a friend. I hope it made sense. Anyway, he explain me many aspects of the human rights. The main problem of the accessibly of human rights, he said, is the way government treats people like expendable materials. Some people get justice, but the problem must be solved on the higher level to have systematic change.

During the last week, I as the last week worked with the Ombudsman’s Office and part-time (evenings) in PRHRC. The attitude of the employees somewhat have changed to me. Most of the time, they started to acknowledge me and say “hi”. I analyzed the statistics of the Ombudsman and gave them my recommendations on their reports. Also, I analyzed the anonymous interviews with prisoners about physical abuse and medical assistance. Over 90% of all prisoners wrote that they were not abused in anyway. However, I would question these responses as they were interviewed not in private settings.
On Thursday, I supposed to be going to the prison №1 about 50 km from Perm. However, about 7pm on Wednesday, I got a call form Isaev S., the director of PRHRC, who said that the authorities changed their decision about letting me in because a have a dual citizenship. I was very upset as I was trying to visit prison whole summer, but all agencies would terminate my request. But, hopefully today I will be able to meet for an unofficial interview with officer, who worked in law enforcement agency and ask them why (if they do) violate the rights of prisoners. I want to get their side of the story.

Today, I went to the “parliament lesion” for high school children. Mr. Mikov explained to children how they can protect their rights and what their rights are. He told a couple of successful stories and asked children’s opinions about certain issues.

Also, today I went to the big forum which was called “Apartment question”. Many real estate agencies, builders, ombudsman, public organizations, and government agencies were present to answer citizens’ questions. The issues, that people were concern the most about were how to check the documents when they buy apartments, what to be cautious about, what agencies to trust, what rights they have and how to protect them. The forum was from 12-8pm in the center library. I think that this event was very helpful in educating citizens and promoting fair business practices.

As I planned, today I was able to take unofficial interview from the officer, who worked in law enforcement agency and who was a prisoner himself for some time. He was very nervous when I was asking him questions and was always looking around to make sure that nobody hears us. Also, he asked me many times if I am tape recording. I told him I was not. He even asked me to put my phone and everything from the table away.

Well, during our conversation I did get an inside view of the other side. Basically, Andrey (not sure if it is his real name) said that normal prisoners do not get beating most of the time. If a prisoner obeys the rules and not tries to pick an argument he will be safe most of the time. But sometimes, well, many times happens “deformation of profession”, which means that an employee of an agency gets tired of his job and dealing with criminals, so he starts (after 3-4 years) to “have fun” on the job. The fun includes beating, asking other prisoners to beat one prisoner, or just make prisoners to follow some humiliating commands.

However, Andrey, once again, told me that if prisoners will obey inside rules no one will touch him. This means that if a prisoner will work as everyone (by the law he doesn’t have to), buy goods in the store (the prices are much higher than outside), will not complain to human rights organizations, and will give some money to management, then he will be just fine. In return of “good” behavior, the management promises early release from prison, and keeps its promise. Andrey also said that sex between prisoners occurs only by mutual agreement, and there is not rape. The government knows about all what happens and no guard or other officer of a law enforcement agency will go to jail if he is valid to the management/government.

In the opinion of Andrey, most prisoners deserve what they get behind bars. Isolation is not enough, there must be punishment. He admitted that sometimes there are innocent people in jail. The court system doesn’t work efficiently. The judges do not care about justice, they are overbooked and all they want is to get over with a case and move on. And even when mistake became clear, no one will care to get the person out of jail and restore justice because then the authorities will look bad and the government cannot allow it.

Andrey stated that he is somewhat happy that he went to jail because he met many interesting people and now he understands how life works. He said that the whole system that must be broken before anything can change. For example, if the officers would have good salaries and social benefits they may not need extra money. The punishment system should work correctly to prevent physical abuse and corruption.

Well, on September 16, my trip was concluded. Can Perm’s citizens access they human rights? In over 95% no, if the government involved. The whole system of law agencies, including courts, prosecutions, police, and investigation must be completely reorganized, but it must start from the highest level of government.

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.

Yuliya Lynch
Perm Regional Himan Rights Center
Perm, Russia

See here for photos

After the Conference, we all (about 100 people) went to the museum: Perm-36, in the village Kuchino, about two hours from the city. We took a bus, some guests took taxi. We arrived in the afternoon. The guide met us at the entrance and showed us where the bathroom was. I had to say that even with a terrible smell; the ladies room had running water, which is an exception in the villages. So, out excursion started.

Perm-36 is a unique museum, which is no less than a repaired former political camp that had a name Perm-36. The camp was active until 1990s. The people, who were sent to the camp were called “ismenniki rodinu”, which means that they betrayed their country. They might have said something negative about the government, read not approved books, or practiced religion. In the museum, we saw cells, tools of torture, kitchen, the old clothes, photos, documents, isolation cells, etc.

Guide told us that the prisoners were severely undernourished and one form of punishment was to reduce already little portions of food. The other torture was to put a prisoner in an isolated cell for up to 15 days with a little sunlight and no right for a walk. On the other hand, the reward was a walk under the sun or work next to a heater during the long cold winter.
The museum contained proof from somewhat forgotten political repression. I even met a former prisoner of this camp. He said that they did a good job in reproducing the prison.

“Pilorama”

After the excursion, some participants of the conference stayed for the citizens’ forum “Pilorama”. This is an annual two days event that is located in the village Kuchino next to the museum. Most of the people live in tents. During the day there were debates in the territory of the museum, political cinema and theater. During the evening and night there were some rock concerts and movie showing.

I came to the “Pilorama” because I wanted to listen to the debates. I was able to visit seven debates:”20 Years Later, Europe and the World”, “Privatization of Perm. 90s. 20 Years Later”, “What is “we”-multinational nation of the Russian Federation today?”, “20 Years Later After USSR. Losses and findings”, “Europeans museums of Holocaust. 20 Years Later”, “My personal restructuring: where have I been in August of 1991 and where I am now”, “Shtazi”. I, also, watched a movie called “Is Stalin with us?” I stayed only one night and one day. I did not stay Sunday because the weather was very bad and the conditions of living were unbearable.

About the debates. They all were interesting, some of them were in the form of presentation, during the others participants were arguing and expressing their opinions. I liked the most the debates “What is “we”-multinational nation of the Russian Federation today?” and “Europeans museums of Holocaust. 20 Years Later”. The Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Lukin, said that Russians should respect other nations and the minorities should be able to celebrate their events and traditions. During the presentation “Europeans museums of Holocaust. 20 Years Later”, I learned that German people still fell the guilt after the repressing the Jewish people. Germans show the history to the world and acknowledge their deep regret. The discussions were very informative, although, the questions from the audience were not allowed.

The documentary “Is Stalin with us?” surprised me because it showed that some people still believe that when Stalin was a leader, people lived better and there was a proper order of things. There was no alcoholism, homosexuality, everybody had work, and everyone knew what to do. One teacher said that Stalin is her “God” and that she follows his advice. I guess, some people liked the way things were, but I, probably, would not be able to live in that world. Today, we are free minded and have control of our lives.

As I mentioned, I liked the idea of debates and an organization of citizens’ event. However, the living conditions were horrible. I didn’t mind living in tents, but it was only one restroom with running water, which worked only for a couple of hours on Friday. After that we had to use restroom outside, 10 minutes from our tent; there was always a long line. There was no place to wash hands, so we used wipes. The weather was very cold and it was raining not stop. But this is not the worst part. Most people came to “Pilorama” to drink. So, some were screaming, drinking, and lighting the fire until 8am. The drinking and fires were prohibited on the territory of the forum, however, the police didn’t stop anyone. I could not sleep and I feared for my safety. Well, but this is how it is done in Russia. Idea is good, but the implementation is not so great.

Yuliya Lynch
Fellowship Location: Perm, Russia
Perm Regional Assistance Center

Last week was very busy as we prepared for the international conference. I translated the information for the foreign guests (program of the conference, list of the participants, schedule, etc.) and assisted in the organization of the event. This conference was truly important and very large for Perm. The topic of the conference was Pre-project for the prevention of torture in prisons and other social institutes, such as mental hospitals, orphanages, and army but the focus was made on the Russian jail system. The goal was to understand how to address the torture in social institutes in the long term project (3-5 years) and to draw a possible context of this project, which should start next year in most states of the Russian Federation.

Let’s start from the beginning. How does the Russian government prevent torture in prisons and other social institutes now? Well, primary today social institutes overseen by the Public Monitoring Commissions (PMCs). People, whose rights may have been violated, may submit a complaint to ombudsman of the state, police, or free legal assistance centers. However, only the PMCs are responsible to prevent the violation of the rights.

The Russian commissions (http://www.onkrf.ru/) were formed only two years ago by the new law (http://ufsin.kaluga.ru/control/43). They were formed in each state from the regular citizens, who are not specialists in prevention of the violation of the rights, most often they are from the human rights profession. The PMCs do not have any financial support from the government. The law says that the members of PMCs have to spend their own funds to cover all of the expenses, such as transportation, technology, paper, electricity, etc. The PMCs has rights to visit social institutes after notifying the institute first. The members of the PMCs can talk to prisoners only in the same room with officers. By the law, a PMC can suggest to a social institute to eliminate the violation or to improve something to prevent the violation. However, a PMC can only suggest something, and doesn’t have any real power over the officers.

The participants of the conference included ombudsmants from seven states, the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Lukin), members of the PMCs from over 23 states and republics, representatives of the Council of Europe, the representative of the Chancellor of Justice of the Republic of Estonia, and the representatives of the Russian Head Department of the Federal Service of Punishment Executions, the Head Department of Police Affairs, the prosecution. The structure of the conference combined discussions in small groups and presentations of the speakers. It was a two days conference, which our center helped to organized. In the next parts, I will share the experience from this conference and my notes.

Markus Jaeger, from the Council of Europe, spoke about the work of PMCs in their social institutes. He said that the PMCs in Europe have full-time employees; they can come unannounced, talk to any prisoner without guards, review all files, and go to the media at any time. The next speaker, who I would like to mention, is Igor Aleshin, the representative of the Chancellor of Justice of the Republic of Estonia. He shared with the audience that they have very open and democratic system in social institutes. When Estonian PMC goes to check an institute they talk to all prisoners, eat and smoke with them. They can come anytime announced. If they detected a violation, they would submit a recommendation to the institution; in 96% an institute would correct the violation right away. Moreover, the PMC in Estonia monitor social networking channels (Twitter, Facebook) and respond to any posts that can indicate a violation. Mr. Aleshin stated that the monitoring is the most direct and important function of the PMC. If the violation is already committed, for the most part it is work of the police. The members of the PMC are professionals and independent from the government. The Chancellor cannot be removed by the government before his time come. I asked Igor, what about what the prisoners complain the most. He replied that prisoners do not like that they have to carry their own bedding, pillow, and blanket to the cell. In Estonia, they have only 3,000 prisoners total in five prisons.

The Russian PMCs do not have one or the most effective algorithm, which every PMC will follow when they check the social institute and how to prevent violations. In the example of prison, the members of PMCs are not sure where should they start form the kitchen or cells, and how to detect hidden violations. The members of the PMC shared that in his state they have complaint boxes in prisons, where every prisoner could put a complaint without being detected. However at the end of the day or week, the officers will have to register a complaint and will know the names of the prisoners, who think that their rights were violated. On the other hand, a PMC’s member from Chelabinsk replied that in the prisons in his state, they would bring the envelops with them and prisoners would put their complaints there. In this case, the officers will register the complaint and will know the name of the prisoner, but will not be able to read the context.

The main results of the discussions in the small groups include the following:
1. The partial financial support should be from the government, as the members of the PMCs cannot bare all the expenses or always depend on the grants
2. PMCs should have trained professionals and not only regular citizens. PMCs must have a few full-time employees to answer phones, email, write press relizes, and so on
3. PMCs should be able to visit the prisoners/patients in social institutes if they were transferred to other state
4. The members of the PMCs would like to visit one other to exchange the experience
5. The web pages of each PMC should be developed and one common web site must be created. This will help to inform the citizens about their rights and exchange experience between PMCs
6. The federal laws are very limited and may be interpreted differently. Some social institutes do not have an updated version of the laws and officers simply are not informed about the functions of the PMCs
7. The government should allow PMCs to ask the opinions of the experts when needed
8. PMCs have to have more authority so that the social institutes would fulfill their recommendations
9. The prisoners should have a better access to the legal information. The officers/guards should have special trainings about the rights of prisoners. The members of the PMCs should, also, complete some trainings to increase their professional level. The educational programs may prevent the violations
10. The prisoners in Russia should be able to send complaints by mail if they do not have money
11. The PMCs must print free newspapers and distribute itamong citizents to increase informative level of the masses
12. It would be very helpful for the overall statistics to interview the prisoners about the conditions and treatment in the prisons
13. PMCs members should travel abroad and communicate with foreign PMCs to gain more knowledge
14. All prisons must have cameras to secure the fair treatment
15. PMCs should have a federal status and not a state
16. PMCs have to be allowed to check the social institutes without prior notification
17. PMCs would like to have resources to offer free legal help, provide printed laws to their clients

As mentioned before, Russian PMCs have a long way to go in order to improve the prevention rates. The mos troubled state from all that were presented was Bashkortostan Republic. The members of the PMC stated that officers beat 80% of all prisoners regularly. Many prisoners die from beating, luck of healthcare, and overall poor conditions. The authorities falsify the medical reports and do not provide any official responses to the problem.

In the next part, I would like to express my emotions about the conference. I really think that this Conference is crucial in development of the prevention mechanisms in the Russian Federation. It is no question about that. But something else I have noticed. The ombudsmants of the states that were present are very far from the regular people. Let me explain. They are arrogant, spoiled and egoistic. For example, they needed a taxi particular brand, they did not want to register as all guests, they must have special attention to them at all the time. I certainly did not like it. They should serve people and do not be kings in their attitudes.

In my next blog, I will write about the “Pilorama” that followed the conference and the visit to the museum Perm-36.

Yuliya Lynch
Perm, Russia
Perm Regional Assistance Center

See here for photos

My responsibilities in this Center include translation of their webpage and other documents into English and assist in filling out the applications for grants. Also, I participate in round tables, discussions, listen to complaints of citizens, and review the materials of court decisions.

Today, I will write about the topic that shocks even me considering I am Russian and know how the things work here. Not only the government doesn’t provide orphans with housing as it promised, but takes away their children because orphans don’t have a place to live.

In poor conditions orphans lived for 18 years and then the only home they have (an orphanage) the government takes away compensating the orphans with a sweet promise of their own home. The media have been talking about this issue, but no result. Our Center wrote about it and represented orphans in courts. Moreover, the Center helped their clients to win the law suits, but the government simply replayed they do not have money to provide orphans with housing. So sorry. However, the city of Perm just this summer invested millions of dollars in the infrastructure of the city because the mayor wants Perm to be a cultural capital of Russia. There is 2,500 orphans, who need a home.
In my opinion, before the local government decides to turn the city into cultural capitol, they should keep their promises to its citizens. The orphans would appreciate the housing and the company of their children more than a nice looking street.

Today, once again, the couple walked into the doors of our Center. The government promised them an apartment, technically a small room in the apartment, but still a roof over their heads. Well, the time passed, no housing was provided. Once again, the government doesn’t have funds; they cannot fulfill its promise. They went to court and the judge agreed that the government must provide them with a house to live in. In addition, to the housing situation of this couple, they are waiting for their first child. It is a real possibility that the child services will take their child away. So, Perm will be a cultural capital of Russia, where 2,500 orphans live with no roof under their heads and with a fear that the child services may take away their children because they have nowhere to live.

Why does the Russian government create a law and publicly announce the program for the orphans? In my opinion, the administration just wants to show off and to “prove” that Russia is a democratic country that cares about low income class citizens.

Yuliya Lynch
Perm, Russia
Perm Regional Assistance Center

Just before I started to write my blog, the woman walked in the door to our center. She was an average woman in her late 40s, well dressed, but the sadness and the desperation in her eyes was too hard to ignore.

She stared. Her son was convicted of a rape and sentenced to the 9 years of a jail time. She started to cry. She was very sincere and I can tell that she was sure that her son did not force women to have sex.

Her son is 23 years old. Not sure about the details, but I will tell what I know. Her son and a couple of his friends invited two or more prostitutes to the house in suburbs. They had sex. As a client described, the girls asked the men to pay 2 million rubles ($71, 421) for them not to press charges. The client doesn’t have the money and could not afford to pay the price for the “freedom.” The girls drop the price at the court day to the 1.5 million rubles, but it is still was too high for the client. Well, the client’s son went to trail. During the court hearing, it was decided that he is guilty and must be sentenced to a jail time.

As his mother said, the authorities did not have the results of the expertise, semen match, or any material evidence. The “victims” did not have any bruises. It was no signs of a fight..anywhere. Not even under the nails of the “victims.” You may ask then: “Why would the government put a young men to jail with no evidence and how can this happen?” It is Russia.. anything possible, I would say. The client said that the “girls” had something to do with the way the police treated her son.

In addition to all said, the client claimed that there were a lot of false reports that police wrote. For example, the police officer said that the house, where everything happened was a two story house, but it was only one floor house. Or, that her son has two children. He doesn’t. The facts are very easy to prove and the client has all the prove. What is the problem then? No one listens. She doesn’t have money to bribe the police or to hire a good lawyer. That’s how it is done here.

Here is more. The client told us that on the court day the judge announced that her son is sentenced to 6 years. Then the judge asked if the defendant want to say anything. He said: “I am innocent”. The judge then added: “Son, you said three words, you will be sentenced to three more years”. His total sentence time is now 9 years of 10 maximum for this crime by the law.

The client tried to appeal the decision, but the judge would not even consider the appeal. It is illegal. They wouldn’t even accept her paperwork.

This woman came to the center because she is desperate. She doesn’t know what to do, where to go. She has no one. No one cares.

I understand that you may ask: “Don’t you think that her son may be guilty?” Yes, it is possible. But, if you would see what I saw and hear what I heard, you would not ask. His mother not only has a love for her child, but she knows the situation form the inside as the “victims” and police tried to get money out of her. She is the one, who wrote to the court and got rejected without money.

The center agreed to look at her documents and if everything that she described is true..we are going to fight. I am personally ready to attack..
I will write more about the situation as I will have more information. I hope this post wasn’t too emotional. It is the first time I am writing a blog, so I hope I am on the right track.

Yuliya Lynch
Perm, Russia
Perm Regional Assistance Center

I am working in the Perm Regional Human Rights Protection Center (PRHRPC) in Perm, Russia. This organization offers free legal help to people, who cannot afford to pay for the legal assistance. They have many complains from prisoners and their relatives. Perm is a relatively small city and regional government may be corrupted and not interested in promoting human rights, but rather keep their power. The PRHRPC is a very popular socially powerful organization that works very intensive to protect the citizens.

Last week I went to the round table, where safety on the work place was discussed. Scientists, production companies, authorities, and different legal organs were present. The main question was: “How can Russian companies produce adequate respiratory safety equipment?” It is my understanding of the issue that the manufactures of the respiratory safety equipment did not break the law; they followed the official standards.

However, the standards are too low and not easy to interpret. In this discussion, three sides were presented: the local government, production industry, and human rights activists (PRHRPC). After the debates, it became clear that an official investigation must be conducted and laws (standards), as well as business practices must be changed if necessary.

Every Monday and Thursday, from 4-7 pm citizens come to the Center to express their complaints and to speak with legal representatives. I will discuss it in my next blog.

Yuliya Lynch
Perm, Russia
Perm Regional Assistance Center

I have been watching people coming to the Human Rights Protection Center every Monday and Thursday from 4-7pm and asking for help. The problems that they are telling to the lawyers mostly related to the prison rights and abuse of power.

One problem that can be described as typical is abuse of power in the prison by making prisoners work for free. By law the government have to pay to the prisoners minimum wage, which is about $150 a month, but instead the authorities paid the prisoner (let’s call him Mr. Ivanov) $1-5 a month. Moreover, the management of the prison promised Mr. Ivanov early parole for the free labor. Most prisoners would take the “deal”. However, the management didn’t put Mr. Ivanov’s name on the parole list as they promised, so his wife complained to the Human Rights Center. Many others of Mr. Ivanov’s rights were violated, but it is very hard to prove it because the management covered the facts by the fake documents or lack of the documents in prison. The management of the prison use free slavery labor and do not give anything in return.

I am happy that people in Russia seek the legal assistance and do not afraid to fight for their rights. This is a big step toward a better future. However, the Russian government must take action to eliminate the abuse of power and promote human rights, if they want to achieve progress.