Reacting to the news that Russian migrants’ rights defender Tatyana Kotlyar has been convicted and fined with 650,000 roubles (US$7,500), Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:
“Tatyana Kotlyar is being punished simply for helping hundreds of people, including migrants and refugees, by generously registering them at her home. Under Russian law, people need to have a registered address to access social services, enrol children in school or obtain a job. This legal requirement perpetuates the marginalization of the most at-risk individuals, including homeless people and people on the move. Instead of fixing this problem, the authorities have focused on penalizing human rights defenders like Tatyana Kotlyar.”
Tatyana Kotlyar is being punished simply for helping hundreds of people, including migrants and refugees, by generously registering them at her home
Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director
“The criminal case against Tatyana Kotlyar is another rock which has been thrown at Russia’s fragile civil society. The Russian authorities should quash the conviction, solve the registration problems faced by marginalized people, and end their ruthless campaign of harassment and intimidation against those who stand up for the most at-risk and vulnerable people in society.”
Background
Tatyna Kotlyar, 72, is the head of the “For Human Rights” movement from Obninsk, Central Russia. On 28 June, a magistrates court in Obninsk found her guilty...
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