Joint Statement to the HRC on restrictions against HR Lawyers in the Russian Federation

Russian Federation

On 9 August 2023, Lawyers for Lawyers, IBAHRI, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, submitted a statement to the Human Rights Council 54th Session on the Russian Federation’s systemic restrictions and repressive actions against Human Rights Lawyers.

The above-mentioned organisations expressed their concerns about the Russian Federation’s intensification of restrictions on lawyers’ abilities to carry out their professional duties and exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly since the launching of its war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. These systematic restrictions on human rights lawyers play a crucial role in the Russian government’s efforts to suppress opposition to its invasion of Ukraine, flagrantly violating international law and standards, including obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

Such restrictions against lawyers in the Russian Federation are wide-ranging and systematic. Lawyers have been repeatedly denied access to clients involved in peaceful protests against the invasion, with instances of access being delayed until after police interrogations or completely denied by authorities. Moreover, lawyers have been provided with false information regarding the whereabouts of their clients or wrongly informed of their clients’ refusal of legal representation, obstructing their professional duties.

In addition to systematic restrictions, individual human rights lawyers have faced targeted repression by Russian authorities. Measures such as labelling lawyers and legal advocacy groups as “foreign agents” or “undesirable organizations,” unjustified disbarment, fines, imprisonment, and fabricated charges have been employed to create a chilling effect, hindering lawyers from defending clients.

In light of these violations, the above-mentioned organisations stressed the need for international bodies like the Human Rights Council to take action and submitted the following recommendations to the HRC:

• Request that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation collect, examine, assess and report to the Council, making recommendations to address violations of lawyers’ rights.
• Urge the Russian Federation to:
  • Cease its practice of designating Russian lawyers and legal advocacy groups as “foreign agents” or “undesirable organizations,” and remove all such designations
  • Release and withdraw fines and charges against all lawyers detained, charged, or convicted of offences regarding anti-war expression; and
  • Comply with international human rights laws and standards including the ICCPR and Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

To read the full submission click here.