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Amnesty raps Medvedev on Russia rights violations
Thu May 28, 2009 11:06am EDT
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By Amie Ferris-Rotman
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has failed to deliver on promises to improve human rights and some violations have worsened since he took office last year, Amnesty International said Thursday.
Medvedev, a 43-year-old former lawyer, has scolded officials for breaching human rights, vowed to battle corruption and end what he terms legal nihilism in the court system.
Amnesty used a 16-page memorandum to detail a host of abuses on the Kremlin chief's watch, including the murders of reporters, torture of detainees and targeting of civilians during August's war with Georgia.
"Over the past year, you set several goals, which, if implemented, could enhance the rule of law," Amnesty said in the memorandum which it said it had sent to Medvedev.
"Major changes are not yet visible. Certain steps are being made but Amnesty International considers them insufficient... In some areas the situation has got worse."
Human rights violations in the North Caucasus region including disappearances, ill-treatment and unfair trials are still committed with "impunity," Amnesty said.
Amnesty said it was seriously concerned about the legal case against jailed Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, who are on trial on new charges that could keep them in jail for another 22 years.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
The two were sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion in 2005 under then-president Vladimir Putin, though their defense lawyers say they are political prisoners.
Amnesty called for independent observers to monitor the pair's second trial to judge whether it is a fair process.
Medvedev has recently struck a decidedly different tone on political dissent and human rights to that of Putin, who now serves as prime minister.
The Kremlin chief used an interview with an opposition newspaper last month to chide the trade-off between prosperity and freedom which critics say was the hallmark of Putin's rule.
Amnesty praised Medvedev's efforts this month to review Putin-era restrictions imposed on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in line with his promise to strengthen civil society.
But the group said Medvedev needed to follow through on promises.
"Concrete actions are needed to prove that he (Medvedev) is doing more than paying lip service to reforms," Amnesty's secretary-general Irene Khan said in a statement. Continued...
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