Topic: Nicolas Sarkozy

Reporters Without Borders is deeply shocked by the Ingush supreme court's decision to release the policeman who fatally shot Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of the Ingushetiya.ru news website, on 31 August 2008. By reducing the gravity of the charge on which Ibragim Yevloyev (no relation) was convicted, the court was able to commute his two-year jail sentence to two years of “supervised residence,” which means he will be able to resume working as policeman.

“The two-year jail sentence on a ‘negligent homicide' charge was already deeply unsatisfactory but this change in the charge minimises the responsibility of Ibragim Yevloyev and the rest of the police in Magomed Yevloyev's death even more,” Reporters Without Borders said. “His release is a total provocation and shows the Ingush judicial system's complete lack of independence.”

The press freedom organisation added: “Coinciding with a state visit to France by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, the Ingush supreme court ruling has highlighted the fragility of Russia's progress in human rights. Nicolas Sarkozy praised Medvedev's ‘commitment to the rule of law, respect for the law, judicial security and defence of human rights,' but if Medvedev wants to show he deserves this praise, he must put an end to impunity for those who murder journalists and human rights activists in the Caucasus.”

Magomed Yevloyev's father, Yakhya Yevloyev, has said he will appeal against the Ingush supreme court's decision all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. “For the time being, I am in a state of shock,” he said. “I have never seen such a denial of justice as this. I think we are going to appeal to the Russian federal supreme court even if we do not expect a fair decision.”

An opponent of the Ingush government as well publisher of the Ingushetiya.ru news website (now Ingushetiyaru.org), Magomed Yevloyev was shot in the temple in an interior ministry vehicle shortly after being illegally detained on his arrival at Magas airport on 31 August 2008. He was left unconscious a few hours later at the entrance to a hospital, where he died soon afterwards. The police said he was shot accidentally as he tried to grab an officer's firearm.

The victim's colleagues and family had petitioned the courts for his death to be investigated as “murder with premeditation” under article 105 of the Russian criminal code. The petition was rejected by the supreme court, which ruled that investigators should continue to treat the case under article 109 § 2 as “homicide through negligence, as a result of inappropriate professional behaviour.”

This was the charge on which Ibragim Yevloyev, the Ingush interior minister's former chief bodyguard, was eventually convicted.

But in its ruling on 2 March, the supreme court went one step further by reducing the charge to just “homicide through negligence” under article 109 § 1 of the criminal code. Judge Tagir Azdoyev ruled that Ibragim Yevloyev had been right to take his firearm's safety off just before the “accident” because the police had been warned that Magomed Yevloyev's supporters might try to free him.

The sentence of “supervised residence” has only just been introduced into the Russian criminal code and it is not yet known how the Ingush authorities will implement it.

At the time of his death, Magomed Yevloyev was regarded as one of the leading opponents of then Ingushetian President Murat Zyazikov (who was replaced two months later by Yunus-bek Yevkurov). Chechnya's neighbour in the North Caucasus, Ingushetia has for the past 10 years been in the grip of a low-intensity civil war marked by killings, kidnappings and other forms of violence.

Magomed Yevloyev's successor as Ingushetiyaru.org's publisher, Maksharip Aushev, was himself shot dead by police at checkpoint in Nazran on 25 October 2009.

Previous releases on this subject:

Policeman gets two years in prison for fatal shooting of news website owner

Probe into Ingush website owner's murder relaunched but FSB continues to target website

Website owner's last words to his editor: “Roza, they are taking me away”

Ingush news website owner shot dead while held by interior ministry officials

Listen to Magomed Yevloyev (in Russian) :

France: Press Turkmen Leader to End Rights Abuses

Turkmen President's Visit a Key Opportunity to Urge Improvements

President Nicolas Sarkozy should use the upcoming state visit by his Turkmen counterpart to speak out about Turkmenistan's abysmal human rights record and to press for concrete improvements, the French League for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders said today. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is scheduled to begin a three-day visit to France on February 1, 2010.

Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world. Unknown numbers of political prisoners languish in its prisons, and the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, movement, and religion are subject to draconian restrictions. Independent civil society and media cannot operate openly, if at all. The government threatens, harasses, and arrests those who question its policies, however modestly.

“Hosting Turkmenistan's president comes with a duty to speak out about abuses there, and to press for concrete improvements,” said Veronika Szente Goldston, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “President Sarkozy needs to send a clear message that respect for human rights is at the core of France's engagement with Turkmenistan.”

Turkmenistan remains closed to independent human rights monitors, including Human Rights Watch and International Federation for Human Rights. In September 2008, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion became the first UN special rapporteur to visit the country, but the government has refused to grant invitations to nine other UN monitors despite their longstanding requests for access.

Turkmenistan is rich in natural gas, and is considered an important strategic partner by many governments, including France. A number of French businesses have pursued investment opportunities in Turkmenistan, including most notably the conglomerate Bouygues, and business talks are expected to be a dominant part of the agenda.

The visit comes at a time when the French parliament is considering ratification of a major EU accord with Turkmenistan. The accord – the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement – would significantly upgrade relations between the EU and Turkmenistan. It has been frozen for years over human rights concerns, but a renewed push to move forward with it is currently under way. The agreement requires ratification by the national parliaments of EU member states, and France and the United Kingdom are the only remaining holdouts.

“French parliamentarians have a key opportunity to ensure that upgraded relations with Turkmenistan are linked to concrete human rights improvements,” said Jean-Pierre Dubois, president of the French League for Human Rights.

The agreement contains a clause committing both parties to respect human rights and providing for possible suspension if either party violates this principle.

“Given the appalling state of human rights in Turkmenistan, no sooner would the EU have concluded the agreement than it would be compelled to initiate proceedings to suspend it,” said Jean-François Julliard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders. “European governments have squandered precious time and leverage by turning a blind eye to Turkmenistan's human rights problems and proceeding with the agreement despite this absurd situation. This needs to change.”

The French League for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders called on France and other European governments to recognize that Turkmenistan's rights record is at odds with the agreement's human rights clause. They should clearly articulate the specific human rights improvements Turkmenistan needs to make in exchange for enhanced relations, and engage proactively before the agreement is concluded to help secure them.

“The EU's stance to date on human rights in Turkmenistan has been disappointingly weak, but France now has a great chance to rectify this,” said Souhayr Belhassen, president of International Federation for Human Rights.

The French League for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders called on France and other European governments to press the Turkmen leader to take the following specific steps:

Free all those imprisoned for political reasons, including the human rights activists Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy Khajiev and the dissident Gulgeldy Annaniazov;

Establish a nationwide, transparent process to review all cases of political imprisonment to establish the real number of prisoners held on politically motivated charges, and ensure that victims of abuse are provided redress;

Lift travel bans on students, activists, and relatives of opposition members, and dismantle the system that allows for interference with citizens' ability to leave and return to Turkmenistan;

Allow activists, civic groups, and journalists to operate freely and without fear of persecution;

Ensure access to the country, including to places of detention, for independent human rights monitors and extend invitations to all United Nations monitors who have requested access.

For more information, please contact:

For Human Rights Watch, Veronika Szente Goldston (French, English, Swedish, Finnish, Hungarian): +1-917-582-1271 (mobile)

For International Federation for Human Rights, Sacha Koulaeva, (French, English, Russian): +33-6-48-05-94-80 (mobile)

For Reporters Without Borders, Elsa Vidal (French, English, Russian): +33-1-44 83 84 67; or +33-6-61-82-93-36 (mobile)

(Photo : AFP)