Officials detained for 15 hours three human rights activists who were attempting to compile a list of missing persons. Aleksandr Cherkasov of the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center said neither the reason for their detention nor their release were explained. Civil liberties groups including Human Rights Watch have called for an investigation into the detentions.
Moscow gay pride parade organisers have complained to the European Court of Human Rights about the ban on the 2009 parade. Moscow’s Mayor Luzhkow has previously labelled the parade “satanic” and the case follows a number of unsuccessful appeals against the bans in the Russian court system. Moscow Pride are seeking €200,000 in damages from the Russian Federation. The Strasbourg court has given Russian authorities ten days to lay out their position on the ban.
Impunity is an urgent issue facing press freedom campaigners. Joel Simon of the Committee to Protect Journalists outlines a roadmap for action
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Claims of internet censorship have spread amongst the Russian blogosphere after the wireless internet service provider, Yota, admitted blocking access to certain websites. Denis Sverdlov, chief executive of WiMax operator Skartel, which runs the Yota brand, acknowledged that Yota blocks access to sites that are classified as extremist by the Justice Ministry. “This strongly smells of political censorship,” said Denis Bilunov, a senior member of Kasparov’s Other Russia movement. He said the most likely explanation was Russian Technologies’ involvement in the company. Read more here