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Public Verdict Foundation: 

Public Verdict Foundation

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Human rights are the main goal What is the Public Verdict Foundation? The Public Verdict Foundation was established in February 2004 as a non-profit, non partisan organization offering legal assistance to victims of human rights abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers in Russia. The founders of Public Verdict include prominent Russian human rights groups and charitable organizations, such is the ‘Memorial’ International Society for Human Rights, History and Education; the Moscow Helsinki Group; the Open Russia; the Democracy Foundation (the Alexander N. Yakovlev Foundation); and the Russian Regions Foundation. The Public Verdict Foundation works to promote a climate of intolerance to abusive law enforcement practices in the Russian society and to ensure civilian oversight of the law enforcement. The Foundation informs the wide public on the situation with human rights violations committed by the law enforcement.

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The graph below is a distribution of responses to the survey question, How serious, do you think, is the problem of abuse an violations committed by law enforcement officials in Russia today? (% of respondents) Russian people are concerned about arbitrary practices of law enforcement officials

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Transparency is the central principle we live by. The Public Verdict Foundation offers legal assistance and disseminates best practices to help individuals and groups restore their rights violated by law enforcement officers. The Foundation assists law enforcement authorities in preventing and suppressing violations of human rights and civil liberties. An important part of our mission is to promote the development of regional human rights groups and to support their work. The Foundation engages in educational and analytical work, and commissions relevant studies from reputable sociological institutions and think-tanks. The Foundation develops recommendations to improve law enforcement practices in Russia, and consults with government and NGOs regarding these recommendations. The Foundation engages in public and media campaigning. The Foundation promotes international standards of human rights and civil liberties in the Russian Federation, and advocates for effective domestic application of international human rights mechanisms. How does the Public Verdict Foundation operate?

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In 2004-2005 Public Verdict accomplished the following: The Foundation admitted for consideration more than 200 cases of human rights abuse by Russian law enforcement officials. A total of 40 officials were prosecuted and 34 were convicted. Russian courts awarded 16 claims for non-pecuniary damages for a total of 1262,588 rubles. A total of five acquittals and rehabilitations were achieved - three individuals were acquitted and two organizations were rehabilitated. Three of the complains lodged by the Foundation on behalf of the victims with the European Court of Human Rights. Partnerships were established with human rights groups in nine Russian regions. The Human Rights Hotline of the Foundation operates all across Russia providing free, round-the-clock legal advice over the phone on human rights-related issues. The Foundation offers its assistance to all Russian citizens whose human rights and civil liberties have been violated by unlawful acts of the law enforcement authorities

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. In 2004-2005: More than 2000 media reports on the Foundation's human rights work were published. Three sociological surveys were conducted to research views and concerns of the Russian public with regard to abusive law enforcement practices. Each month, the Foundation publishes a special indicator developed by sociologists – the Law Enforcement Arbitrariness Index (LEAI). The findings of sociological surveys and monthly LEAI measurements are widely disseminated, thus raising public awareness of the problem. However, legal advice and assistance alone cannot eradicate arbitrariness in Russia. We also target mass media and encourage them to disseminate success stories of people standing up for their rights

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Sergey Oleinik, truck driver, Nizhny Novgorod: - I have first-hand experience of police abuse. This outrage must be stopped. But you cannot deal with the law enforcement machinery alone. It is good that organizations have emerged which offer free, high quality legal advice to victims and insist on bringing the culprits in uniforms to justice and making them pay for the harm done. In 2000, Sergey Oleinik was unlawfully detained by police officers and cruelly beaten for having asked the police to show their IDs. Due to efforts by the Nizhny Novgorod Committee against Torture, and support from the Public Verdict Foundation, the abusers were punished. We help people We help people

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Angelica Berezina, mother of an 16 year old victim, Chita: - The policeman who hit my son was sure for a long time that he would get away with it. Although his actions were obviously illegal, the enquiry, and then the investigation were painfully long. It took a lot of efforts and persistence on my part to make sure that the case was brought to trial. Our family would not have been able to obtain justice without support. I am grateful to the Chita Human Rights Center for assistance, and to the Public Verdict Foundation for arranging free services of a lawyer for us. On July 24, 2003, during school vacations, Semyon Berezin was riding his motorbike home from a store. While passing by a police car, the teenager saw a man hiding behind the car. Immediately, the man dressed in police uniform ran out into the road and hit the youngster in the eye with his metal baton. The policeman was convicted. We help people

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Eugeny Maininger, worker, Togliatti Nitrogen Plant, Togliatti: - Thanks to the good work of my lawyers, and the support from the Public Verdict and Glasnost Defense Foundations, all charges against me were dismissed, and my reputation was restored. I hope that those who had attempted to have me convicted as if I had killed Alexei Sidorov will face court of law. In October 2003, Eugeny Maininger was arrested on suspicion of killing Alexei Sidorov, editor-in-chief of Togliatinskoye Obozrenye, a local paper. Maininger was tortured and forced to confess the crime he did not commit. Following Maininger’s arrest, high-level officials hurriedly reported that Sidorov's killer had been found. In particular, on 17 October, 2003, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Deputy Prosecutor General made public statement saying, “the crime is detected, the culprit is arrested and has confessed." Maininger was held in custody for one year awaiting trial. On October 11, 2004, Komsomolsky District Court in Togliatti acquitted Maininger. In 2005, Eugeny Maininger sued the state and was awarded 450,000 rubles as compensation. We help people

Our work is supported by: 

Our work is supported by The Open Russia The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation OSI Assistance Foundation Private donors