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Georgia: Acts of harassment against Mr. Arnold Stepanyan

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  • Georgia: Acts of harassment against Mr. Arnold Stepanyan

    URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
    GEO 001 / 0309 / OBS 054
    Acts of harassment
    Georgia
    March 30, 2009


    The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
    programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the
    International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent
    intervention in the following situation in Georgia.

    Description of the situation:

    The Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Centre (HRIDC)
    about acts of harassment against Mr. Arnold Stepanyan, a defender of
    the human rights of minorities in Georgia, Chairman of the human
    rights NGO `Multinational Georgia' and co-founder of the Multiethnic
    Resource Centre for Civil Education Development.

    According to the information received, on March 19, 2009, a district
    police inspector visited, for the first time, the offices of the
    Multiethnic Resource Centre for Civil Education Development, though
    they are located next to the Ministry of Defence in an area closely
    monitored by law enforcement bodies, and asked questions about the
    organisation and its leadership.

    On the same day, a person, who refused to identify himself, called and
    asked a staff member whether Mr. Arnold Stepanyan was Chairman of
    `Multinational Georgia', whether he was at the moment in the office
    and when he would come to the office.

    In addition, on March 19, 2009, the Tax Inspection Office of the
    Ministry of Finance closed down a small business called `Arnold
    Stepanyan', which was established in 2000 and was run by
    Mr. Stepanyan's father in his flat and a company called `Giperioni
    Limited', which was co-established by Mr. Arnold Stepanyan in 2006.

    These acts follow the transmission to the Council of Europe, early
    2009, of a critical alternative report on the protection of minority
    rights in Georgia, of which Mr. Stepanyan, as Chairman of
    `Multinational Georgia', is one of the authors. Mr. Stepanyan is also
    an expert in the field of inter-ethnic relations, an active member of
    the Assembly of Tbilisi Armenians and Co-founder of the NGO Coalition
    `For Democracy'. Finally, Mr. Stepanyan is a member of a group that
    organised a demonstration held in Tbilisi on March 15, 2009 calling
    for justice and freedom.

    The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about these acts of
    harassment against Mr. Arnold Stepanyan, which seem to merely aim at
    sanctioning his human rights activities.

    The Observatory recalls that as a Participating State of the
    Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Georgia
    must conform with paragraph 8 of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
    Resolution on Strengthening OSCE Engagement with Human Rights
    Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions, which states that
    the OSCE Participating States recognise `the need for particular
    attention, support and protection for human rights defenders by the
    OSCE, its institutions and field operations, as well as by
    participating States'.

    The Observatory also urges the Georgian authorities to conform to the
    Declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on
    Human Rights Defenders, so as to create an environment conducive to
    human rights defenders, to take effective measures to protect,
    promote, and respect them, to ensure their access to effective
    remedies and to take action to prevent attacks and harassment against
    them.

    Action requested:

    Please write to the Georgian authorities urging them to:

    i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all circumstances, the
    physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Arnold Stepanyan;

    ii. Conduct a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial
    investigation into the above-mentioned acts of harassment against Mr.
    Arnold Stepanyan, the result of which must be made public, in order to
    identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent,
    independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal, civil
    and/or administrative sanctions provided by the law;

    iii. Put an end to any act of harassment against Mr. Arnold Stepanyan
    as well as against all human rights defenders in Georgia;

    iv. Comply with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights
    Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in
    particular Article 1, which states that `everyone has the right,
    individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment
    of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
    international levels' and Article 12.2, which provides that `the State
    shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the
    competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association
    with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or
    de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action
    as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights
    referred to in the present Declaration';

    v. Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
    accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other
    international human rights instruments ratified by Georgia.

    Addresses:

    * Mr. Mikhail Saakashvili, President, State Chancellery, 7 Ingorokhva
    Street, 0134 Tbilisi, Georgia; Tel : (995 32) 28-27-13; (995 32)
    28-24-00; (995 32)99 96 53; ( 995 32) 98-72-62, ( 995 32) / 99-87-50,
    Fax: ( 995 32) 98-72-62 (99532) 28-27-68; (99532)28-27-14; E-mail:
    [email protected], [email protected]
    * Mrs. Eka Tkeshelashvili, Secretary of the National Security Council
    of Georgia, 7, Ingorokhva Street. 0134 Tbilisi, Georgia, Tel: (995 32)
    93 23 22 ; Fax: (995 32) 98 99 72 ; E-mail: [email protected]
    * Mr. Ivane Merabishvili, Minister of Interior, Ministry of Interior
    of Georgia, 10, Gulua street, Tbilisi, Georgia. Tel: (995 32) 74 62
    50; +995 32 99 62 96 / 99 80 50 / 99 95 55/27 28 44/99 53 50/98 39 43;
    Fax:(995 32) 98 71 46 / 99 95 24; E-mail: [email protected],
    [email protected]
    * Mr. Giorgi Arsenishvili, Head of the Parliamentary Committee on
    Human Rights Petitions and Relations with the Civil Society,
    Parliament of Georgia, 8 Rustaveli Avenue. 380018 Tbilisi, Georgia;
    Tel: (995 32) 28 13 88; Fax: (995 32) 92 15 63. Email:
    [email protected]
    * Mr. Zurab Adeishvili, Minister of Justice, 19, Griboedov st,
    Tbilisi, 0108, Georgia, Tel: (995 32) 93 27 21 / 93 50 49 / 75-82-22;
    Fax: (995 32) 93 02 25 / 75-82-22 ; Email: [email protected]
    * Mr. Sozar Subari, Ombudsman of Georgia, 11, Machabeli street,
    Tbilisi 0107,Georgia, Phone: (995 32) 92 39 60 / 92 24 78 / 92 24 81 /
    93 15 85; Fax: ( 995 32) 92 24 70; Email: [email protected]
    * H.E Mr. Giorgi Gorgiladze, Ambassador, Permanent mission of Georgia
    to the United Nations in Geneva, Rue Richard Wagner 1, 1202 Geneva,
    Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 733 90 33 ; Email:
    <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
    * Diplomatic Mission of Georgia to Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 732
    85 47

    Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Georgia in your
    respective countries.

    ***

    Geneva - Paris, March 30, 2009

    Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code
    number of this appeal in your reply.

    The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the
    protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete
    support in their time of need.

    The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the
    French Republic.

    To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
    Tel and fax OMCT : + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 (0) 22 809 49 29
    Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 33 (0) 1 43 55 18 80
    Email: [email protected]
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