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Moscow Helsinki Group: Russia’s oldest human rights organisation told to close

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The oldest human rights organisation in Russia has been told by a court to shut down. The Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), which was established in 1976, publishes a yearly report on the state of human rights in Russia.

The authorities have recently stated that it does not possess the proper registration. It is the most recent in a string of closures aimed at opposition and human rights organisations across Russia.

The justice ministry sued to dissolve the organisation in December, claiming that it was only registered to protect human rights in Moscow and not elsewhere in the nation. The decision follows the filing of that complaint. Despite the MHG always working with a wider scope, this is the case.

At the time, the group referred to the action as “disproportionate” and asserted that it would go on operating “regardless of the preferences of the authorities.” According to a statement released by MHG on Wednesday, the organization’s co-chair warned the judge and justice ministry representatives that by shutting it down, they were “committing a major sin.”

Valery Borshov remarked, “You are ruining the human rights movement, you are destroying it. “The group’s dissolution is a significant blow to the human rights movement everywhere, not only in Russia,” The group claimed that the ad hoc inspections of the MHG by the justice ministry were unlawful, which was the basis for the case. It has stated that it will challenge the ruling.

It was founded by a group of well-known Soviet dissidents and named for the Helsinki Accords, a comprehensive international pact that the USSR signed and supported fundamental freedoms and human rights. After the Soviet Union’s fall, the group was reactivated in the early 1990s.

MHG has compared the treatment it has received from the Russian government to that of Memorial, a well-known human rights organisation that was shut down in 2021. The Journalists and Media Workers’ Union was among the numerous rights organisations that Moscow courts disbanded last year.

International human rights groups have sharply criticised the Russian government for what they see as a widespread crackdown on independent journalism and dissenting voices that has gotten worse since its invasion of Ukraine.

That includes top opposition figures, the majority of whom are now either in prison or exiled.

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Russian soldier pleads guilty in first war crimes trial of Ukraine conflict

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In the first war crimes trial in Ukraine since the conflict began, a 21-year-old Russian soldier admitted to killing an unarmed civilian.

A few days after the invasion began, Vadim Shishimarin admitted to shooting a 62-year-old man. He is facing life in prison. Handcuffed and flanked by heavily armed guards, the prisoner was led into the tiny Kyiv courtroom. He kept his head bowed and appeared nervous.

The widow of the man who was killed was only a few metres away.
As the soldier entered court, she wiped tears from her eyes and sat with her hands clasped as the prosecutor laid out his case, describing Kateryna’s husband, Oleksandr Shelipov, being shot in the head.

The judge inquired, “Do you accept your guilt?” Shishimarin replied, “Yes.”

“Totally?”

From behind the glass of his grey metal-and-glass cage, he replied quietly, “Yes.”

Shishimarin was commanding a unit in a tank division when his convoy was attacked, according to prosecutors. He and four other soldiers stole a car and encountered the 62-year-old on a bicycle near Chupakhivka, according to them. Shishimarin was ordered to kill the civilian, according to prosecutors, and he did so with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The Kremlin previously stated that it was unaware of the situation.

Shishimarin’s trial was postponed shortly after the civilian’s widow heard the Russian soldier admit to the murder for the first time. On Thursday, the high-profile hearing will resume in a larger courtroom.  Before leaving the court for the day, Oleksandr’s widow spoke to the BBC about how she was coping.

“I pity him [Shishimarin],” she expressed her sorrow. “However, I cannot forgive him for such a crime.”  Ukraine has identified more than 10,000 possible Russian war crimes so far.

Although Moscow has denied targeting civilians with its troops, investigators have been gathering evidence of possible war crimes to present to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is sending a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts, and support personnel to Ukraine. In the meantime, Ukraine has established a team to preserve evidence in order to facilitate future prosecutions.

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Russia begins vaccination program

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The European country of Russia has begun its vaccination program in an attempt to bring the Covid-19 crisis under control. The program has commenced in the Russian capital of Moscow.  

For the program, it uses Sputnik V, a vaccine it developed few months ago. The vaccine is said to be around 95 per cent effective.

The vaccine was originally registered in August. Initially, it was denounced on the ground that it lacked the backing of proper clinal trials.

It is said that the vaccine is still in the stage of mass testing.  

This weekend, thousands of people will receive the first of two jabs.

Recently, a top Russian official indicated that the country would commence its vaccination program soon.

The world is closely watching the development in Russia. It is still not clear how fast Russia will be able to meet its vaccine production target.

As many as two million doses of the vaccine is expected to be produced with in the end of this year.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin recently said in the preliminary stage the vaccine was being offered to people in the city of 13 million who work in schools and the health service, and social workers.

He added that the list would grow as more of the vaccine became available.

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