Russia
Human rights activists complain about assault – allegations against police
A screening of a film by director Agnieszka Holland is said to have been stormed in Moscow. Photo: Gregor Fischer / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
A human rights organization shows a film critical of Stalin in Moscow, and their office is robbed. Those affected report strange behavior by the police.
The human rights organization Memorial has complained about a robbery of its office in Moscow and accused the Russian police of inaction.
During a film screening on Thursday evening, up to 25 people stormed the hall and shouted insults, Memorial announced on Friday. Independent media reported that the action was filmed by the Kremlin TV station NTV.
When the police were called in, they behaved “strangely, to say the least,” Memorial wrote. The officers had shown no apparent interest in investigating the situation or arresting attackers. Memorial employees, on the other hand, were held in the hall for hours and questioned. A lawyer was denied access until late at night. According to the media, only three of the intruders were held by the police.
Film politically undesirable?
The film “Red Secrets – In the crosshairs of Stalin” by the Polish director Agnieszka Holland was to be shown. The film is about the famine caused by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the Ukraine in the 1930s. The Polish cultural center, which helped organize the film evening, spoke of an attempt to cover up the historical truth about Stalinist crimes. In Russia, ultra-nationalist circles have repeatedly taken action against a distortion of the history of the Stalin era alleged by the Kremlin.
Several German organizations and Eastern Europe experts condemned the incident at Memorial in a joint statement. “We see this action as a massive attack on freedom of expression and information,” it says in the message, signed by representatives of Amnesty International and the Center for Liberal Modernism, among others.
The Deputy Green Chairwoman, Jamila Schäfer, was also concerned. “We stand at the side of those who advocate active civil society and international dialogue, and we will not stand idly by the increasing pressure on civil society engagement.”
Activists repeatedly complain of increasing repression against non-governmental organizations and critical media in Russia. Most recently, the independent news portals Meduza and Doschd were classified as “foreign agents”. Memorial is also in the controversial register of agents of the Russian authorities.