Does impunity reign supreme in Russia?

The assassin is on the run, and the mastermind behind the odious crime has not been identified…
And yet, the Moscow military court set to judge, once again, accessories in the murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkoskaya denied the family’s request that the retrial be postponed, and the murder investigation reopened, though many questions have been left unanswered:
The point of the appeal was very simple," said one of the attorneys representing the Politkoskaya family, Karinna Moskalenko. The crime is not solved and the case is not investigated. All we're saying is the way the case was submitted to the courts a year ago did not answer a single important question ... Who ordered the crime or who committed it? And if there is evidence, it must be brought to the court.
The three suspects facing trial, the brothers Dzhabrail and Ibrgim Makhmudov (the former charged with being a lookout, the latter, the driver), and a policeman, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, who was believed to have provided the murder weapon, were acquitted of all charges after a four month trial that ended last February.
Anna Politkoskaya was gunned down in her apartment building in Moscow, on Lesnaya Street, on October 6th, 2006. She was 48.
She had written many articles on the situation in Chechnya, much to the dismay of the Russian government, and in particular, on the human rights abuses committed in the restive province by the pro-Moscow authorities there.
One of her main sources was Natalia Estemirova, a human rights campaigner, who was also murdered, last month…No suspects have been arrested in that case…
The whereabouts of the man suspected of having killed Anna, Rustam Makhmudov,
a third brother, are unknown.
The retrial, convened due to procedural errors that marred the initial one, though involving a new judge and a new jury, will examine the same evidence presented the first time, beginning September 7th.
The family was deeply disappointed by the court’s decision:
We are absolutely shocked by today's news and are disappointed because we thought we had a chance to attain justice, said Vera Politkovskaya, Anna’s daughter. If we could, we really would like to not participate in this circus any longer.
As such, the family will follow the proceedings, but plans to press their case with the European Court of Human Rights (incidentally, many Chechens seeking justice denied by the Russian authorities, have appealed to the Court hoping that their grievances will be addressed) located in Strasbourg, France.
Though the Kremlin had promised that the investigation would lead to the arrest of all those responsible for the murder, little, in fact, has been done.
According to a human rights campaigner, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the authorities have not evinced much zeal in such cases, leading many to suspect that they may be involved and shielding those responsible: There is a threshold beyond which investigators are not allowed, beyond which good, honest investigators are banned from probing their case. If they insist, the case is taken from their hands and given to other investigators who either close it or take it in the wrong direction.
Indeed, those who have been murdered (see here) were all highly critical of the Putin regime, its authoritarian ways, and its scorched earth policy in Chechnya.
Since 1992, 50 journalists have been murdered in Russia. Only Iraq and Algeria are more dangerous for a journalist!
In the last nine years, 18 have been killed.
In only one case, have there been murder convictions.
Reporters Without Borders, an organization based in Paris that promotes freedom of the press everywhere, came to the following conclusion: this decision serves to confirm that nothing can be expected from this retrial. No light will be shed on the many questions left unanswered by the original trial. The retrial will be nothing more than an empty formality… Impunity now reigns supreme in Russia, the group added.
Clearly, those who, in Russia, believe in justice and democracy, seek to promote those values and hold the government accountable for its actions are in danger.
They can expect neither protection nor support from MM. Medvedev and Putin, who obviously, have other priorities, namely reinforcing the power of the executive branch, come what may.
Mr. Obama had referred to the necessity of hitting the reset button concerning US relations with Russia.
Yet, should we have normal, cordial relations with a regime that has such contempt for human rights, and human dignity, a regime that was either complicit in the murder of democracy and human rights activists, or was too feckless to deal with these dastardly crimes?
MM. Medvedev and Putin have a lot to answer for.
We, in Europe ,and the US should make sure that they do…
We owe that to Anna Politkoskaya, Natalia Estemirova and all their murdered colleagues…
　
　

The movement is still alive

The formal endorsement ceremony, held on Monday, was a fitting prelude to yesterday’s inauguration. The event, unlike the last time, in 2005, was not broadcast live on Iranian television, perhaps so that no one would notice the absence of so many dignitaries.
Indeed, it was boycotted by scores of officials and prominent personalities, such as Mir Hussein Mousavi , Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist candidate in last June’s election, and former presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami.
Yet, the event was nonetheless significant, for a prerequisite to yesterday’s official inauguration.
As al-Alam state television succinctly put it after the event, the official ceremony was held and Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) approved Mr Ahmadinejad's presidency.
The Supreme Leader, who described the victorious Ahmadinejad as a brave, hard-working and wise man, persisted in his drive to have him officially recognized as President, hoping to, at last, defuse the post-election controversy, regardless of the rigged electoral process, and, once again, brazenly ignored the demands of countless Iranians who have refused to countenance the election results and, thus, recognize the declared winner as their legitimate president.
Speaking disparagingly of the protest movement, he said: the enemies must know that the protests, which are caricature of the pre revolutionary ones, cannot undermine the system. We should be vigilant, as even when we are in our best situation enemies can plot against us, [and] the conspiracies of enemies must be heeded by officials and people.
He sought to rally the entire nation to his cause, warning that only Iran’s enemies could benefit from disunity at home.
And yet, hundreds if not thousands of Iranians expressed their anger in the streets, and clashed with the security forces, chanting, Death to the Dictator.
The plain clothed Basijis, with their clubs and their tear gas, strove to disperse them.
Yesterday’s inauguration took place at the Majlis, Iran’s Parliament, at Baharestan Square. Like the ceremony held two days before, it was not broadcast on television either, the first time in 12 years.
Not only did the ceremony begin behind schedule, many of the assembly seats were empty…
The list of those absent was even more impressive than on Monday. Not only did Mousavi, Rasfanjani, Khatami, Karroubi once again fail to be present, Moshen Rezaei, the only conservative candidate in last June’s election, apart from Amahdinejad, followed suit!
None of the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s family attended either. The grandson of the Father of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Khomeini was, conveniently, in Pakistan, so could not come…
Most foreign embassies either sent no one, or low level staffers.
In his inaugural speech (at the outset of which, the Reformers rose, and left), Amahdinejad neither mentioned the election controversy, nor the unrest that ensued.
Instead, he stuck to his nationalist mantra: we will resist oppressors and try to correct the global discriminatory mechanisms in order to benefit all the nations of the world, he said.
He also denounced the West for refusing to recognize his victory: this means they only want democracy which serves their interests and they don't respect people's votes and rights. Iranians will neither value your scowling and bullying nor your smiles and greetings, he added.
As he did five years ago, Ahmadinejad promised to initiate economic reforms to tackle inflation and unemployment(which worsened during his first term in office), and to stamp out corruption, a popular theme in his two presidential campaigns.
Yet, reconciliation will most certainly not be a hallmark of his second term.
At a meeting of the Association of Basiji Scholars (it seems that in Iran, even militias have their own think tanks…) held in Mashhad last week, Ahmadinejad told his audience: a new period has begun. Let me take the oath of office, and wait for the government to begin its work. Then, we'll seize them (the opposition) by their collars and stick their heads to the ceiling.
Fearing a vigorous reaction from the Iranian people, and anticipating potentially massive demonstrations, the security forces closed down the entire area around the Majlis, making it impossible for anyone to approach the event.
In addition, the area’s subway stations were closed preventing easy access to the square.
More than five thousand policemen and paramilitaries dispersed those who managed to gather and vent their outrage.
The Basijis, which included teenagers wearing camouflage apparel and wielding pickaxe handles and led pipes, confronted the demonstrators, some wearing black as if in mourning on this inauguration day, and others in green, the color of the protest movement. Arrests were made.
Haleh Sahabi, a feminist and member of the anti-war group Iranian Mothers for Peace, and daughter of a member of the very first revolutionary government in 1979, was among those detained.
Earlier, in a further attempt to undermine Mousavi, the director of his website, Qalamnews, Mir-Hamid Hassanzadeh, was also arrested.
The demonstrators chanted their signature slogan Death to the Dictator, as they were beset by the Basijis with pepper spray.
That evening however, the traditional Tehran-wide rooftop demonstration was especially vigorous, and shouts of Allahu Akbar were heard throughout the capital.
Though the hardliners, come what may, have succeeded in imposing their candidate as president, stark challenges lie ahead.
The government Ahmadinejad is to appoint must be approved by the Majlis within two weeks.
Considering the recent controversy surrounding his choice for first vice president, and the dismissal of the Intelligence chief, selecting a cabinet amenable to his unruly and divided conservative constituency may not be easy.
Secondly, the opposition has no intention of easing the pressure on Ahmadinejad and his chief patron, The Supreme Leader. Indeed, nothing that the regime has attempted in the last two months succeeded in crushing the movement, on the contrary. Its heavy handed tactics only fueled the indignation and determination of many Iranians.
As Mousavi said recently: the fact is that this movement has stayed alive, showing that the arrests will not be effective.
In addition, as schools will soon reopen for the new year, and sporting events also organized anew, opportunities to demonstrate and mobilize the people, especially the young, against the regime will be numerous.
The demand for change, democracy and justice have not been addressed, and no specious inauguration ceremony will reconcile the regime with the people it has deceived.
As one young college graduate told The New York Times: I voted for Moussavi because I want change.
The yearning to join the modern, democratic world seems intense.
How long will the regime be able to stifle it?
The longer it resists change, the less likely that the people will settle for what the regime now currently dreads: a Velvet Revolution.
The Supreme Leader and his henchman Ahmadinejad should heed this warning from an Islamic scholar.
Dr. Hashem Aghari, Professor of History at Tarbiyat-e Modarres University said:
if there is going to be a revolution in Iran, I pray that it will be of the velvet type [meaning peaceful and bloodless]. But the way things are going, I am afraid that it will be bloody.
It is up to the regime to ultimately determine its fate…
Will it have the necessary wisdom to relent, and let the Iranian people choose its own destiny?
The odds are not good…
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

They can't stop it now

The rendezvous was set at 4pm, about an hour’s drive south of the capital Tehran, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery.
Mir Hussein Mousavi had summoned his supporters to honor those killed by the regime’s thugs during the various mass demonstrations that followed the rigged June12 presidential elections, including Neda Agha Soltan…
She was killed by a single bullet exactly forty days ago last Thursday. Shiite tradition thus demanded that she be honored at a mourning ceremony.
The cemetery is hallowed ground for historical reasons as well.
Many of those who were killed during the 1979 Revolution are also buried there.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini himself, the father of the Revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran is buried in a mausoleum just next door…
By 4pm, several thousand mourners had congregated at the site…
Interestingly enough, there are reports that the police (the traditional force, and not the paramilitaries such as the Basijis, and the Revolutionary Guards) actually cooperated with the mourners, one participant told tehranbureau :
waiting to enter the cementery compound in the traffic, one of my companions pulled down the window and half jokingly asked the police officer what was going on. He smiled back and said, “nothing, just go towards row 257.” For those not familiar with Behesht Zahra, it’s an enormous cementery with wide avenues and squares. Knowing it would take us a while to find our destination, the police officer decided to help by telling us in which row we could find Neda’s grave.
Wearing black, and holding red roses the mourners chanted Neda is alive! Ahmadinejad is dead! and suras of the Koran.
Mousavi and his wife tried to approach Neda’s grave but were surrounded by hundreds of paramilitaries, and, prevented from getting out of their car, were forced to leave.
The crowd then chanted Yaa Hossein, Mir Hossein, thus identifying their leader with the Prophet’s grandson, the most adored religious figure in the Shiite world.
When another reformist, also a candidate in last June’s election, Mahdi Karroubi, tried to give a speech at the mourning ceremony, the paramilitaries charged, beating members of his party as well as anyone else they could, and he was also compelled to flee the scene.
Two Iranian filmmakers, Jafar Panahi and Mahnaz Mohammadi, were arrested as they tried to lay flowers on Neda’s grave.
The regime had warned that all troublemakers would be harshly dealt with: we are not joking — we will confront those who want to fight against the clerical establishment, Abdullah Araghi, the Tehran leader of the Revolutionary guards, declared the night before.
Thousands simply ignored his admonitions, and demonstrated nevertheless, as they have done whenever possible, since last June…
Many of the mourners then headed for Tehran, and joined the thousands who had been unable to reach the cemetery due to the roadblocks set up by the security forces so as to hinder the movements of the mourners.
Several demonstrations (one eye witness spoke of at least seven) then simultaneously took place, in various sections of Tehran.
The main rallying point was the Grand mosala mosque, but a robust police presence there prevented demonstrators from gathering.
They thus headed to Vanak and Valiarsr Squares instead.
Though the paramilitaries reacted with their customary brutality, the demonstrators were undeterred and refused to be intimidated. As one demonstrator reported shortly after:
this appeared to be the most successful protests since the crackdown began. It was more akin to a riot… The forces were decidedly not in control of the situation. The protests were too widespread and numerous, up and down Valiasr…Although their effort to disperse protesters was ineffective compared to previous episodes, the Guards and Basij forces were unusually savage today — I saw many women beaten without reservation and glass shattering on cars with small children inside…Yet people were more bold than I’d ever seen them. As I write this at 9:00 pm from a location in Abbas Abad district, the shouts of “Death to Khamenei!” and chaotic honks are drifting in loud and clear from the window. It is dark, night has fallen – and protests are still continuing strong. Never have they lasted this late except on the first few days following the election.
This is a positive sign, one that clearly demonstrates the protest movement has not lost momentum, and is ready to defy the regime whenever the opportunity arises.
Many were encouraged by the significant turnout, and the resilience of the demonstrators: you see they never thought this many people would turn out in the heat like this. They can’t stop it now, one woman present at the cemetery said.
Demonstrations also took place in other Iranian cities, such as Mashhad and Rasht.
The regime had made some concessions, in order to appease those who had criticized its handling of the post-election riots, including some within the ruling conservative faction, and in particular, its detainee policy. Several of those arrested died in detention, after having been abused and tortured.
140 prisoners were released Tuesday, including the human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr.
The Supreme Leader himself, Ali Khamenei, ordered the closing of the Kahrizak facility, one notorious for its abuse of prisoners.
Darius Ghanbari, an opposition parliamentarian, described it as basically a big warehouse. Citizenship rights are not respected there. Interrogators routinely beat up prisoners. It has none of the necessary standards for a detention center. There are not even toilets. Diseases are rampant.
Many opponents of the regime were not impressed by Khamenei’s belated response.
Grand Ayotollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, an opponent of the Supreme Leader, retorted harshly: was the shah able to resist the protests by jailing, torturing, extracting confessions and lying?, comparing the Supreme Leader with the autocratic and loathed former leader overthrown in the 1979 Revolution, and explicitly predicting that the policy of repression would ultimately fail, as it did thirty years ago.
Miffed that the concessions were derided by the opponents of the regime and that the demonstrations on Thursday clearly evinced that the protest movement was as vigorous as ever, the regime changed tack.
A trial of more than 100 reformists (the authorities had previously mentioned that only 20 would be prosecuted) arrested in the post-election turmoil opened on Saturday.
Among the accused, and brought to court in prison garb, were former president Khatami’s vice president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi; former deputy foreign minister Moshen Aminzadeh, and Moshen Mirdamadi, leader of Khatami’s party, the Islamic Iran Participation front.
The charges?
Organizing mass protests against the regime ; colluding with foreign powers; undermining national security and attempting to overthrow the clerical regime through a Velvet Revolution!
It comes as no surprise that the defendants, while in detention , confessed to the crimes enumerated previously…
Mr. Abtahi declared in court I believe the reformists had prepared for two or three years for this election, in order to limit the powers of the supreme leader. I want to tell all friends that there was no fraud in the election, it was just a lie to build the protests around.
Needless to say, Khatami’s party rejected these ludicrous charges:
after 50 days of isolating and pressuring the detainees ... such a weak indictment has been prepared ... It is a politically motivated and illegal indictment...
As far as it was concerned, the trial was a laughable show that even a cooked chicken would laugh at.
The former president accused the regime of organizing a show trial, and staging a diversion so that the real crimes committed against the people by the regime would be overlooked. Furthermore, he added, basic constitutional guarantees were flouted:
what was done yesterday is against the constitution, regular laws and rights of the citizens. The most important problem with the trial procedure is that it was not held in an open session. The lawyers and the defendants were not informed of the contents of the cases ahead of the trial.
Such a parody of justice can only further embolden the regime’s opponents…
Ahmadinejad’s inauguration is to take place Wednesday August 5th .
The regime is running out of time, its credibility in tatters.
The show trial hastily organized is only further undermining its authority, and its reputation, at home and abroad.
The regime’s erratic behavior these last few days-concessions one day, and show trials the next-suggests it is at a loss at what to do, and has lost its bearings.
Its repressive policies have failed to cow the Iranian people, and, as it has no other strategy, it now finds itself on the defensive, and its figurehead, Ahmadinejad, appears weaker and more ineffectual with each passing day…
In all likelihood, the streets of Tehran will once again be overrun on Wednesday…
How long will the regime find the stamina to cling to power?
(the photograph of the ceremony at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery July 30th, is by AP)