Oleg Orlov believes that Memorial’s printed products attracted the Prosecutor General’s Office for political reasons only.
Photo: Pavel Smertin
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Prosecutor General’s Office Suspects Strasbourg
// Textbook on applying to the European Court might become material evidence
Russian Prosecutor General’s Office became interested in the activities of Memorial human rights center. The Office wants to know the source of financing for the center’s publishing of the textbook Applying to the European Court of Human Rights. Memorial believes that prosecutors act “within the framework of the general anti-NGO struggle”, and that it “will always have to prove now they are not criminals”. The Office refrained from giving comments.
Memorial human rights center received a letter from Tverskaya interdistrict prosecutor’s office, in which Prosecutor Petr Titov demanded “copies of invoices, cash receipts, bills, and other documents” related to the textbook Applying to the European Court of Human Rights issued by Memorial.
Head of the center Oleg Orlov explained that the 475-page textbook was published in spring 2006 in edition of 5,000 copies. The book describes how to compear in Russian courts with an eye to Strasbourg, how to compile documents for the European Court. It also describes the Court’s rulings for Russian cases.
Memorial is not concealing the sources of financing. Orlov said the textbook was published on donations of the European Commission, which gave out $80,000 for the center’s work with directing complaints to the Court, $11,000 of which were spent on the book. The textbook was distributed in courts, law firms, and non-profit organizations.
Memorial said the Prosecutor’s Office apparently acts “within the framework of the general anti-NGO struggle”.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 27, 2007
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