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13/10/2022

The European Court of Human Rights issues a long-awaited judgment on Russia’s ‘foreign agents’ law: expectations and reality

In early June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in Ecodefence and Others v. Russia – a decision which representatives of 73 Russian non-governmental organisations had been expecting for nine years. The Court has finally recognised that the Russian Foreign Agents Act violates Article 11 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, i. e. the rights to freedom of assembly and association, and the Russian government’s application of the ‘foreign agent’ concept is arbitrary.
16/05/2022

“Threat to life is often underestimated in a situation of violence”. Interview with Anastasia Maskaeva, Crisis Centre for Women

“INGI. Crisis Centre for Women,” an NGO that has been active in St. Petersburg for 30 years offering assistance to women affected by various types of gender-based violence. In her interview with Legal Dialogue, the Centre's psychologist Anastasia Maskaeva speaks about their clients' most common problems and concerns, the importance of providing “one-stop-shop” assistance, and why helping the victim is more essential than punishing the abuser.
15/05/2022

“The virus doesn’t care what group a person belongs to.” Interview with Denis Efremov, Sibalt Centre (Omsk)

Sibalt is an NGO that has been active in Omsk since the mid-1990s helping people with HIV. Legal Dialogue asked Denis Efremov of Sibalt about barriers to HIV prevention in the region, the role of peer counseling, and the organisation's work under sanctions.
18/03/2022

Anna Kryukova: “I educate healthcare providers about patients’ rights”

Anna Kryukova is a medical lawyer with the Open Medical Club Foundation in St. Petersburg and co-chair of the CSF Working Group on Public and Inclusive Health. In her interview to Vladimir Shvedov, Anna explains how she combines medical and legal practice to help defend the rights of both patients and healthcare workers.
27/01/2022

Elena Shakhova: “There have been attempts to humanise the foreign agents law, but they have led to nothing good”

Elena Shakhova is the Chair of Citizens' Watch, a human rights NGO in St. Petersburg, and a Board Member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. In a special interview for Legal Dialogue, Elena speaks to journalist Vladimir Shvedov about the situation with human rights in places of detention in Russia and how the pandemic has changed things and discusses a highly sensitive issue for Russian civil society today, the law on "foreign agents."
20/12/2021

Galina Arapova: “People have little to no understanding of what independent journalism is and how it should function in a normal society”

In a special interview for Legal Dialogue, journalist Vladimir Shvedov asks lawyer and head of the Mass Media Defence Centre Galina Arapova about her vision of the present and future of Russian journalism, IT giants' policies concerning freedom of speech, and whether the “foreign agents" law can be improved.