Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

freely. But the vagueness of the law “On Freedom of Conscience and Associations”
continued to leave potential for abuse, with minority religious groups more likely to
be targeted. For example, Russian authorities in several regions prevented
Jehovah’s Witnesses from opening places of worship, citing alleged administrative
offences such as the contravention of fire regulations.
We made our concerns in this area clear to the Russian government, including at our
bilateral Human Rights Consultations in January.
Women’s rights
Domestic violence remains a major problem in Russia. The Ministry of Internal
Affairs estimates that 80% of women have experienced domestic violence at least
once in their lives. According to the women’s rights NGO ANNA, many women are
reluctant to report violence, and law enforcement agencies frequently failed to
respond to reports when they were made. Gender discrimination in employment
remains commonplace, with many job descriptions specifying gender and age
requirements. In some parts of the North Caucasus, women continue to face honour
killings, bride kidnapping, polygamy, and enforced adherence to Islamic dress codes.
On 18 June, uniformed men drove around the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny
firing paintball guns at women who were not wearing headscarves. Human rights
activists, including the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva,
believed that these attacks were carried out by police. Chechen President Ramzan
Kadyrov welcomed the incidents, calling the victims “naked women” and announcing
his “gratitude” to the assailants.
Minorities and other discriminated groups
In 2010 the Moscow city authorities again refused to permit a Gay Pride march to
take place in the city. In October, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that
the persistent banning of gay rights demonstrations violated the right to freedom of
assembly. It also underlined that preventing such rallies was illegal discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation.
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