Current members of POC support human rights defenders' lawsuit against Russian Public Chamber

At her blog on the website of the Human Rights Council under the Russian President (HRC), Elena Masyuk, a member of the HRC, has reported that the Tver Court of Moscow has registered a claim filed by human rights defenders to cancel the results of the elections to Public Oversight Commissions (POCs).

According to Elena Masyuk, she herself and Lyubov Volkova and Lydia Dubikova, not included in the new composition of the POC, with the help of advocates Elena Lukyanova and Vladimir Danch, representing their interests, filed a collective lawsuit against the Russian Public Chamber Council to cancel its decision on formation of Public Oversight Commissions and dismissal of their candidates for the Public Oversight Commissions for Moscow and the Moscow Region, as well as to restore violated rights.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 5, human rights defenders spoke against the new composition of the Dagestani Public Oversight Commission. The new compositions of the POCs for Chechnya and Dagestan were also reported by Magomed Mutsolgov in his blog on the "Caucasian Knot". He has noted that in the new composition of the Chechen POC, the number of members with real human rights experience is reduced.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Leonid Petrashis, the chairman of the POC for the Rostov Region, that the new procedure for the formation of POCs has signs of violations of the law and the regulations of the very POCs.

"Of course, the Rostov POC does not agree with the procedure for formation of commissions under the supervision of the Russian Public Chamber, which was applied recently. The process for formation and approval was completely closed and devoid of common sense," said Leonid Petrashis.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.