We, representatives of human rights organizations, are indignant at the purposeful destruction of the system of public control (that is stipulated by the Federal law №76-FZ On the public control of safeguarding of human rights in the places of forced confinement and assistance to the people being in the places of forced confinement of 10.06.2008) that has recently started standing on its own.

The second call-up of public monitoring commissions (PMC) that will have to work without rotation for three years is being formed now. As a result of the two years of work of the commissions the law should have been improved, the efficiency of the control should have been raised, for example, reimbursement of transport charges for the members of the PMC should have been provided. Instead of this we see the attempt to turn public control into decoration without any real content. Using the imperfection of the law the representatives of power structures all over Russia that are subject to the public control themselves are trying to seize or annihilate PMC through regional civic chambers and councils striking active human rights defenders off the lists and filling their places with the proteges of veteran organizations, unions of professional guards, funds of help for law enforcement authorities etc.

Thus, in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area (YNAA) and in Transbaikalia it turned impossible to form PMC: there were no persons interested in working not only free but also traveling to colonies and back at their own expense. Only organization Veterans of bodies of interior affairs of YNAA showed interest to public control, they nominated two representatives while the minimal number of the members of PMC is five people.

In the Komi Republic the PMC can not be formed because the documents of the candidates to the second membership sent via DHL were simply lost in Moscow which was announced directly by the representatives of the Civic chamber. Here we see intentional sabotage of the system of public control in a very important region with numerous penal colonies taking in account that all lost documents were sent by local human rights activists.

The formation of PMC of the city of Saint-Petersburg is being carried out with outrageous violations. The chair of Leningrad oblast’ commission Yu.V. Matus who is going to combine memberships in both commissions for at least nine months was nominated as a member. At the same time in Saint-Petersburg the candidates for PMC nominated by non-governmental organizations really working with prisoners were declined in favour of representatives of the fund Law and order of Saint-Petersburg.

The commission of the Civic chamber did not recommend human rights activists Aleksandr Tutubalin, Anton Prismotrov and Galina Lebedeva, one of the best Russian experts in the field of public control of military units, in Nizhni Novgorod oblast’ commission de nomine. The list can be prolonged - almost in all regions of the country the situation is similar.

The logical result of the process is the situation in Tatarstan where was decided to combine public control with corporative PR. As a result, seven siloviks among which a certain Larisa Rascheskova is most notable were recommended by the republic Civic chamber. Ms. Rascheskova works as a press-secretary of the service of criminal police of MIA of the Republic of Tatarstan and is going to combine this work with public control in PMC of the republic. We can hardly imagine how it is possible to make money by improving the image of MIA and reveal violations in its system at the same time.

In several cases such invasions are formally legal contradicting only the spirit of the law on public control, in other cases the law was obviously violated as, for example, during the selection of the candidates for the PMC of Moscow by the work group of the Civic chamber. Unknown people gave some provocative slanderous information to the work group. It was said that two working members of PMC, Mikhail Kriger and Ivan Ninenko, recommended by the PMC for a new membership, allegedly had disciplinary action for gangsterism and noncompliance with lawful demands of a police officer. Basing on this they were stricken off the list to be adopted by the Civic chamber. Mikhail Kriger established a reputation as an active member of Moscow city PMC, who defends the rights of prisoners sequentially and steadily, at all hours.

We call on responsible bodies to remember that the spirit and sense of public control consist in defense of the rights of people deprived of freedom but not in guaranteeing to the power structures the membership in public commissions that has to control these very structures. We call to adopt as the members of the PMC famous and active human rights activists specializing exactly in defense of the rights of people deprived of freedom.

We call on members of the Civic chamber not to bow to the wishes of forces that lobby for the interests of MIA and Federal Service of Execution of Punishment that try not to allow the establishment of effective system of public control.

We call to adopt recommended by the Civic Council candidates Mikhail Kriger and Ivan Ninenko as the members of the Public monitoring commission of Moscow.

If you would like to sign this appeal, send your letters to e-mail: geroy55@gmail.com.

Do not forget to mention your name and surname. Please, put Appeal to the Civic chamber in the subject.

Signatures:

Orlov Oleg, chair of the board of Human Rights Center Memorial, by order of HRC Memorial

svetova Zoya, member of the Public monitoring commission of Moscow

Karetnikova Anna, member the Public monitoring commission of Moscow

Zbroshenko Nikolay Kriger Mikhail, member of the Public monitoring commission of Moscow

Davidis Sergey, by order of the Union of Solidarity with political prisoners

Eugeny Ikhlov, All-Russia movement For human rights

Krivenko Sergey, member of the Public monitoring commission of Moscow

Dzhibladze Yury, president of the Center for the development of democracy and human rights

Ponomarev Lev, executive director of All-Russia movement For human rights, executive director of the Fund For the rights of prisoners

Cherny Ernst, secretary of Public Committee in defense of scientists

priest Gleb Yakunin, Committee in defense of freedom of conscience

Gannushkina Svetlana, by order of Civic assistance committee