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DemocracyAlerts

From time to time, the World Movement for Democracy issues alerts concerning participants and other colleagues who are, or may be, facing personal danger due to their work on behalf of democracy and for whom a vigorous response from around the world may be critical.

To see previous alerts go to www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/democracyAlerts.html.

On January 19, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova were gunned down in the middle of the afternoon in downtown Moscow.  Markelov was a well-known and respected figure in Russia's human rights community. He was the president and founder of the Rule of Law Institute, an organization formed to protect human rights and the rule of law.  Baburova was working for NOVAYA GAZETA, formerly headed by murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya.  She had written a number of reports on Russia's growing problem of racism and neo-Nazi violence.

Human Rights First is calling on the Russian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation, identify those responsible, and bring them to justice.  The organization has started an online petition for the case.  The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has also released a statement on the murders of Markelov and Baburova, calling on concerned individuals and organizations to write letters demanding that Russian Federation authorities guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;  order a thorough and impartial investigation of the murders;  put an end to all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in the Russian Federation;  and ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by the Russian Federation.   Letters should be sent to the following offices:

• Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes:+ 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru;
• Yuriy Chaika, General Public Prosecutor of Russian Federation, 125993, Moscow, GSP-3, 15a B. Dimitrovka str. RUSSIA, Fax: +7 (495) 692-96-00
• Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax:+70952064855;
• Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights, Fax: +7 495 607 3969 / +7 495 207-53-37;
• Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 095 237 49 25;
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Fax:+ 7 095 244 2203;
• Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +4122 734 40 44;
• Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 31-33 boulevard du Régent, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 513 76 49.

To electronically sign the Human Rights First petition, go to: http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Markelov

To read the appeal from the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, go to: www.fidh-omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&actualPageNumber=1&articleSet=Appeal&articleId=8304