Shared Concern Initiative’s Appeal on the situation in Russia

The new appeal of the Shared Concern Initiative “Killing Justice in Russia” is a reaction to the murder of Eduard Chuvashov, a judge killed on April 12, 2010 in Moscow. His death is another in a long and growing list of murders perpetrated on independent journalists, human rights activists, or jurists. The appeal was signed by 10 members of the Initiative: Václav Havel, El Hassan Bin Talal, André Glucksmann, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Hans Küng, Yohei Sasakawa, Karel Schwarzenberg, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Richard von Weizsäcker and Grigory Yavlinsky.

 

The Shared Concern Initiative appeals to the Russian authorities and the international community: “We ask the President of the Russian Federation and urge the Russian government to protect people in danger and to ensure quick and effective investigations into the murders of human rights activists, journalists, and independent-minded jurists. Political leaders must speak up loud and clear against these terrible crimes. They must underline the great danger posed for the health of both Russian society and the state when people who are acting in the public interest are silenced through murder. And the international community must find ways to provide support, protection, and shelter to Russia’s endangered human rights defenders.” 

 

The appeal has been released to selected world media and its full text can be found here.