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1. Sutyajnik — A Brief Introduction
What are we? SUTYAJNIK is a non-governmental human rights organization founded
in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 1994. Sutyajnik is a human rights resource center
that helps citizens and organizations realize rights guaranteed in the Russian
Constitution and international treaties, by litigating public interest cases,
educating in human rights, and informing the public about the mechanisms for
human rights protection. One of Sutyajnik’s principal goals is to defend human
rights by working to bring domestic legislation and practice into conformity
with international and constitutional standards in the following areas:
— freedom of association;
— rights of minorities and
discrimination;
— freedom from torture;
— freedoms from unlawful detention,
arrest, and forced medical treatment;
— freedom of expression;
— freedom of religion;
— other rights and freedoms.
Who are we?
SUTYAJNIK is a group of lawyers and senior law students dedicated to protecting
the traditional areas of human rights. Sutyajnik was founded in 1994 by Sergei
Beliaev, who remains its president.
SUTYAJNIK’S Board of Directors:
Tatyana Merzlyakova, Human Rights
Ombudsman for Sverdlovsk oblast
Ludmila Alexeeva, Chair of the Moscow
Helsinki Grou;
Demyan Bakhrakh, Professor of Law at
the Urals State Law Academy
Kathryn Hendley, Professor of Law at
the University of Wisconsin Law School
William Anspach, partner in the
union-side labor law firm Friedman & Wolf
Irene Stevenson, Field Representative,
Solidarity Center / AFL-CIO in Central Asia
What do we do?
SUTYAJNIK carries out its mission by:
• Providing legal aid, by telephone,
at public walk-in centers, via the internet.
• Providing registration and other
legal resource services to NGOs in the Urals region.
• Representing individuals and NGOs in
judicial and administrative forums in both strategic public interest litigation
and conventional cases.
• Conducting public issue campaigns
and lobbying.
• Sponsoring legal seminars and conferences.
• Providing clinical legal education
by supervising law students who consult and represent clients in strategic and
conventional cases.
• Operating a news agency for human
rights NGOs.
• Challenging legislative and
administrative enactments in the Russian courts.
• Preparing and litigating cases in
the European Court of Human Rights.
Who is supporting and has supported us
in the past? The following
organizations: American Center for International Labor Solidarity, USAID,
National Endowment for Democracy, Eurasia Foundation, Know-How Foundation, Ford
Foundation, the Institute of International Education, Open Society
Institute-Moscow, Open Society Institute-Budapest, John D. and Katherine T.
MacArthur Foundation, the Civil Liberties Foundation, the Moscow Helsinki Group,
the European Council, European Commission, etc.
What have we achieved?
In Domestic Forums: Among our most
significant victories of the past years in changing practices in the application
of laws, the following may be singled out:
• Access to Justice: Sutyajnik secured
a decision by the Constitutional Court that ruled unconstitutional the provision
of the Russian Administrative Code that denied the right to appeal
administrative decisions.
• Property Rights: The widespread
practice of airport Security Service personnel confiscating and destroying
passengers’ possessions (including items which transport is forbidden) was
declared unlawful by the Sverdlovsk oblast court.
• Right to Liberty: The practice of
compensation for moral damages in connection with illegal detention for less
than 3 hours was established by a decision by the Verh-Isetskiy district court
of Ekaterinburg.
• Right to Association: A precedent was
set obligating the Sverdlovsk Oblast’s Main Administration of the Russian
Ministry of Justice to refund fees paid by NGOs when registration is refused.
• Right to Life and Freedom from Torture: In February 2004 the
Supreme Court of Russia upheld the decision regarding two militiamen, who had
been sentenced for power abuse that resulted in torture during interrogation
and the death of the interrogated person. |
