The HRC prepares to present to the President

The Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) has begun preparations for its annual meeting with Vladimir Putin. As Kommersant found out, this time most of the reports are planned to be devoted to the military operations of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine and related changes in legislation. The head of the council, Valery Fadeev, assured Kommersant that at a meeting with the head of state, “the topic of mobilization will certainly be heard.” His colleagues expressed the hope that they would also be able to talk about foreign agents, about punishments for discrediting the army, and about a complete “ban on anti-war speeches.”

Proposals for topics of reports for a meeting with the president were first prepared by members of 11 permanent commissions, human rights activist Nikolai Svanidze (who heads the political rights commission) told Kommersant. And on Wednesday, November 16, representatives of the commissions discussed the topics proposed by their colleagues with the head of the council, Valery Fadeev. This year, all the topics announced in one way or another revolve “around the SVO,” Nikolai Svanidze told Kommersant: “Reviewing obviously excessive restrictions, replacing conscripted military service with alternative civilian service, mobilizing prisoners. I want to raise the issue of a virtual ban on anti-war speeches and illegal discrediting of opponents of the war.

The annual meetings of the president and members of the HRC are usually held on Human Rights Day, 10 December. In 2020 and 2021, meetings were held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the eve of the event itself, the HRC presidium (13 out of 48 members of the council) meets with the presidential administration (AP). At such meetings, the agenda of the upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin is approved by a representative of the Presidential Administration: the topics announced by human rights activists can be rejected as unfinished or irrelevant. Nevertheless, HRC members annually report to the President on the most resonant events. Earlier, for example, it was the criminal prosecution of journalist Ivan Safronov (sentenced to 22 years in prison under the article “treason”) or pressure on the human rights society “Memorial” (recognized as a foreign agent and liquidated by the court a year ago – two weeks after the HRC meeting with the president) . In the past two years, the meetings had an “open” part (with broadcast on the network) and a “closed” part (the transcript of the conversation was later published on the Kremlin website). For example, in 2021, it was from the transcript that it became known about the sensational proposal of director Alexander Sokurov to “let go” of the Caucasus regions from Russia.

The main debate at the meeting on Wednesday revolved around the topic of “discredit and fakes,” board member Yekaterina Vinokurova told Kommersant. She is referring to the new articles of the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses, which prohibit the “discrediting” of the actions of the army and the “public dissemination of false information” about it. As Kommersant has repeatedly told, a number of human rights activists and lawyers are sure that these norms violate the constitutional principle of freedom of speech. The total amount of fines for “discrediting” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) amounted to 85.7 million rubles, the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court reported in October. And according to human rights activists, at least 87 people are convicted under the criminal article on “dissemination of knowingly false information”. Some have already received fines of 1 million rubles, and the Moscow municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison. Some members of the HRC, according to Ms. Vinokurova, are in favor of the complete abolition of these norms and amnesty for all convicts, while the other part is for their revision.

As Kommersant was able to learn from some representatives of the HRC, some of the topics may relate to “assistance to the Donbass”, including the construction of a rehabilitation center and a hospice there. Other reports will probably focus on the possible “introduction of an article on Russophobia into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation”, “persecution of environmental activists for political reasons”, “recruitment of prisoners” into the ranks of private military companies and “extrajudicial killings”, Kommersant’s interlocutors indicate. The last point, we note, concerns the scandalous video, which allegedly depicts the execution of the Ryazan prisoner Yevgeny Nuzhin “for betrayal”.

However, the head of the Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeev, believes that a meeting with the president can do without discussing this video. “There is no need to fall into hysterics,” he answered “Kommersant” to the corresponding question.

“Among the “non-military”, a very important topic is the order of the Ministry of Justice on the register of foreign agents. Personal data of people get into open access, which, of course, is extremely dangerous and completely illegal,” said Nikolai Svanidze. In the near future, we recall, the publication of an order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on the introduction of a unified public register of all persons and organizations performing the functions of “foreign agents” is expected.

“It is not known what of all this will sound at the meeting. The topics have not yet been approved, and ultimately Vladimir Putin decides at the meeting itself,” Nikolai Svanidze notes. Valery Fadeev agrees that it is “still too early” to talk about the approval of the final list of topics and reports. However, he assured Kommersant that “the mobilization will certainly be discussed”: “We followed the mobilization from the first days, expressed our critical considerations. We participated and are participating in helping the mobilized and their families, published a report on the topic of mistakes (during the mobilization by government agencies.— “b”). There are proposals, including those of a legislative nature, regarding mobilization, there are proposals on how to work with the families of the mobilized. The President has repeatedly said that the families of the mobilized are now the main task for officials and NGOs.”

Some of the problems may not be included in the final list, because they “turn out to be unfinished” for a meeting with the president, Kirill Kabanov, head of the HRC Commission on Civil Participation in the Development of the Law Enforcement System, points out: “There are topics that overlap with each other, and we just have to decide who and in what form it will raise them.

The date of the meeting between the HRC members and Vladimir Putin, according to Mr. Kabanov, is traditionally scheduled for December 10, but everything will ultimately depend on the president’s schedule. For the same reason, the format of the meeting is still unknown – will it be personal or online. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, when asked by Kommersant to confirm the meetings on December 10, replied evasively: “Usually such meetings take place before the end of the year.”

Maria Starikova, Andrey Vinokurov