Whereabouts of Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova unknown as Russian authorities continue to flout international law.
It’s been 14 days since we’ve had any contact with or access to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and over 10 days since we’ve gotten any information on her whereabouts or report on her condition. Family, lawyers and human rights monitors are being kept in the dark, in flagrant contravention of law, as to which facility she is currently housed in within the Russian Federal Penitentiary System. Her condition and safety are, yet again, unknown.
In what appears likely to be retribution for her September 23 whistle-blowing exposé on prisoner abuse at Mordovia prison camp IR-14, Russian officials have been systematically and illegally cutting off Ms. Tolokonnikova from contact with her family, legal team and human rights monitors.
On October 18, the date of last access to Nadya, the Press Bureau of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service announced the following:
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In connection with the appeal that has been received by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) from the convict Tolokonnikova about ensuring her personal security, the department of management has made the decision to relocate her from the IR -14 FPS of Russia in the Republic of Mordovia to another prison facility .
In accordance with Article 17 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, the administration of the facility will notify only a single of the convict’s relatives (of his or her choice) concerning arrival at the place of incarceration, no later than 10 days from the day of arrival.
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There has been no information granted regarding which prison camp within the Russian Federation penal colony system Ms. Tolokonnikova has been moved to, and no access allowed to Nadya to ascertain her condition. The timeline is as follows:
September 25 – Two days after Tolokonnikova’s whistle-blowing exposé on the abuse of prisoners at Mordovia prison camp IR-14, the access blockade begins and Nadya is cut off from any contact her family, lawyers and human rights monitors.
October 10 – Just as pressure is rising in both the Russian and international press (e.g. France, Italy, U.S.) and following an urgent appeal to the United Nations regarding concern about the unknown condition of the hunger striking Tolokonnikova and her incommunicado status, prison officials grant temporary access – a minimum of visitation to legal counsel, shortly to be withdrawn again.
October 18 – Last access to Nadya by human rights monitoring lawyer and legal counsel to Ms. Tolokonikova, Dimitry Dinze. Prison officials announce they will be transferring Nadya to a different facility. Family, lawyers and human rights monitors are given no information as to what facility she will be transferred to, but rather officials indicate that they will abide by Russian Federation Penal Code Article 17 and notify one family member within 10 days of her arrival at new prison facility.
October 21 – Last time family has word that Nadya is still in Mordovia.
November 1 – 14 days of no access to Nadya, her condition and whereabouts unknown. This is in clear contravention to Russian and International law and minimum human rights standards to which the Russian Federation is a signatory.
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UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
Principle 16
1. Promptly after arrest and after each transfer from one place of detention or imprisonment to another, a detained or imprisoned person shall be entitled to notify or to require the competent authority to notify members of his family or other appropriate persons of his choice of his arrest, detention or imprisonment or of the transfer and of the place where he is kept in custody.
AND
UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
(3) Every prisoner shall have the right to inform at once his family of his imprisonment or his transfer to another institution.
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What’s of note and of grave concern is not only the systematic denial of basic human rights, the deprivation of outside contact and access to legal counsel for Ms. Tolokonnikova, and the exceptionally dangerous situation this creates in regards to her safety given the fate of other whistle-blowers in the federal penitentiary system, but how frequently and systematically Russia seems to be willing to flagrantly violate law and international human rights standards nowadays under the Putin administration.
Nadya’s husband Pyotr Verzilov, with support from donations to the Support Fund, has been leading a team of activists desperately searching for Nadya at various prison facilities, most recently following a lead from Mordovia to Chelyabinsk to inquire at the prison colony there with no luck.
Photo from Chelyabinsk posted @gruppa_voina Twitter.
In a statement given to The Voice Project, Verzilov said, “We do not have the slightest idea of what is happening to Nadya, for two weeks now.” He continued, “We are extremely worried that the Federal Penitentiary Service is using this extremely long prison transfer and isolation to punish her for the troubles she has caused to the Russian prison system in the past month.”
Verzilov. No information of his wife's whereabouts or condition in 2 weeks
The Voice Project will continue to support the efforts on the ground to locate Nadya, deploy human rights monitoring attorneys as well as actively support legal efforts to appeal the illegal actions of the Federal Penitentiary Service, and continue to campaign for Russian officials to adhere to law and minimum human rights standards until Nadya is found, access to her family and lawyers granted, and Russian officials begin to abide by law and international standards of human rights on this issue.
The Voice Project’s Pussy Riot Support Fund is an international fund taking in donations from around the world; proceeds are used to keep Nadya and Masha clothed, supplied, visited and monitored in the labor camps (this is critical for their ongoing safety), and for their legal expenses and children’s care. For more information or to donate: voiceproject.org/pussyriot