The Foreign Policy Centre and Civil Rights Defenders are organising an important seminar to shine a spotlight on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. Since coming to power in 2007 the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has imposed order in the wake of two bloody wars with Russia through a mix of lavish spending and the establishment of a brutal local dictatorship. Chechnya has long been an extremely dangerous place for independent journalists, human rights defenders and other critics of the regime to operate in with the risk of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. The Chechen authorities have also sought to put pressure its critics beyond its borders both elsewhere in the Russian Federation and abroad as shown by Civil Rights Defenders and others in the FPC’s Exporting Repression project. During 2017 the situation in Chechnya was dramatically thrust into the international spotlight as a result of the Kadyrov regime’s sustained and shocking crackdown on Chechnya’s LGBTI community with reports of mass detentions, abuse and killings.

This seminar will bring together leading Russian and Chechen human rights experts alongside UK politicians to examine the current human rights situation in Chechnya, the role played by the Russian Federation and what actions the international community can take in response to the situation. The panel includes representatives of Memorial- the Russian human rights organisation currently being systematically targeted for attacks and harassment over their work in Chechnya.

Attendance is free but please RSVP via Eventbrite. If you have any questions about this event, please email events@fpc.org.uk