September 2023
On the establishment of the Russian Helsinki Group (RHG) as an informal human rights community
Source: Russian Helsinki Group; see also International Helsinki Association for Human Rights
On 25 January 2023 Moscow City Court banned the activities of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) at the request of the Ministry of Justice. On 19 June 2023 the Ministry of Justice issued a decision to exclude the Regional Public Organisation ‘Moscow Helsinki Accords Support Group’ from the Unified Register of Legal Entities.
We, members of the Moscow Helsinki Group liquidated in violation of the principles of law and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are not indifferent to the fate of our country and our fellow citizens and therefore intend to continue the human rights tradition of the founders of the MHG.
We consider it important to focus on civil and political rights, including the violations of rights that accompany the current tragic armed conflict and the mass repressive measures directed against freedom of expression, for publicly expressed critical opinions. At the same time, we recognize the inextricable link between observance of civil and political rights and international security, as well as ensuring the social, environmental and economic rights of our country’s citizens.
We are convinced that Russia can be a prosperous democratic state based on the rule of law and living in peace with its neighbours, something which is possible only on the foundation of respect for human rights and individual dignity.
Based on these values, and for their protection, in full compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, we declare the continuation of our joint activities within the framework of the newly established informal human rights community, the Russian Helsinki Group (RHG).
The members of the Russian Helsinki Group are:
- Boris Lvovich Altshuler
- Galina Yurevna Arapova
- Svetlana Nikolaevna Astrakhantseva
- Vyacheslav Ivanovich Bakhmin
- Valery Vasilyevich Borschev
- Aleksei Ivanovich Golovan
- Yury Artemyevich Kostanov
- Sergey Vladimirovich Krivenko
- Sergei Markovich Lukashevsky
- Dmitry Alekseevich Makarov
- Viktoriya Vasilyevna Malikova
- Daniil Aleksandrovich Meshcheryakov
- Karinna Akopovna Moskalenko
- Mara Fedorovna Polyakova
- Lev Aleksandrovich Ponomarev
- Genri Markovich Reznik
- Nikolai Karlovich Svanidze
- Aleksei Kirillovich Simonov
- Sergei Egorovich Sorokin
- Ilya Georgievich Shablinsky
- Liliya Vasilyevna Shibanova
RHG – gruppa.helsinki@gmail.com
Translated by Rights in Russia
