North Caucasus: Human Rights NGO lawyer hospitalised after brutal assault

North Caucasus: Human Rights NGO lawyer hospitalised after brutal assault - Protection

On 4 February, Memorial lawyer Murad Magomedov was brutally attacked by five unknown men not far from Dagestan’s Supreme Court, in the republic’s capital Makhachkala. The attack took place in broad daylight during an interlude in court proceedings, where Magomedov was defending a client alleged to have been involved in a suicide bombing in August 2012.

As a result of the attack, Magomedov, 32, sustained severe head injuries and was taken to hospital. Reportedly his jaw was broken in two places, his front teeth were knocked out, and, although he has regained consciousness, he is suffering from severe concussion. Due to the severity of his injuries, the lawyer – who had previously received threats to his safety – has been unable to provide any details of the attack or his assailants to the police.

The lawyer has represented human rights centre Memorial since autumn last year, though the case he was working on in Makhachkala was not related to the organisation. Memorial is a leading human rights NGO founded by Andrei Sakharov and is at the forefront of Russian NGOs fighting for human rights.

“The attack on Murad Magomedov is an act of cowardice deserving of widespread condemnation,” said ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director Thomas Hughes. “Lawyers must be allowed to represent the interests of their clients without fear of any sort of reprisal – this is a crucial element in the process of administration of justice. This is not an isolated incident, it occurs against a backdrop of increasing violence facing human rights defenders in the North Caucasus region.”

The violent nature of this attack – as well as the proximity of the attack to Dagestan’s chief legal institution – is of particular concern. This is not the first time that lawyers have been threatened in Dagestan, nor is it the first incidence of physical violence on lawyers in the region, as highlighted in a report released by the Memorial HRC in 2011.

The UN declaration of Basic Principles on the roles of Lawyers stipulates that “where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities… Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.”

ARTICLE 19 further reminds the Russian Federation that, according to the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on human rights defenders, states must “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of everyone against any violence, threats, retaliation or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the Declaration.”

As such, ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Dagestani Investigative Committee to:

  • Bring the perpetrators of the attack against Murad Magomedov to justice in an independent, timely and effective manner.
  • Conduct a thorough and speedy investigation into the motives of the attackers, and establish on whose behalf they were acting.

ARTICLE 19 reminds the authorities that apprehending the perpetrators is not sufficient for justice to have been upheld; the motives for the attack – including on whose behalf they were acting – must be established. Failure to carry out these actions in a swift and effective manner would constitute a dismal failure of the rule of law, and undermine judicial process in the country.

  • Bring the perpetrators of the attack against Murad Magomedov to justice in an independent, timely and effective manner.
  • Conduct a thorough and speedy investigation into the motives of the attackers, and establish on whose behalf they were acting.

ARTICLE 19 reminds the authorities that apprehending the perpetrators is not sufficient for justice to have been upheld; the motives for the attack – including on whose behalf they were acting – must be established. Failure to carry out these actions in a swift and effective manner would constitute a dismal failure of the rule of law, and undermine judicial process in the country.