Russia: Treatment of Azeris

Violence against Azeris and other people of Caucasian descent has increased in Russia in recent years (The Moscow Times Nov. 17 1998; IHF-HR 1999; HRW 1999; Country Reports 1998 1999, 1469; HRW Aug. 1998). In addition to violence perpetrated by extremist groups, law enforcement agents also discriminate against "dark-skinned individuals" including Azeris (Country Reports 1998 1999, 1469; IHF-HR 1999; AI Apr. 1997).

On 7 May 1998, Asaf Nagiyev, a young Azeri businessman, was killed in Luzhniki, an open-air market in Moscow (Ossipov 18 May 1998; The New York Times 15 May 1998; Zeynalov 9 May 1998; Memorial Human Rights Center Sept. 1998; RIA 7 May 1998; TASS 8 May 1998). According to Eldar Zeynalov, director of the the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan, "a group of bandits" attacked a group of Azeri businessmen, of whom one subsequently died (9 May 1998). Zeynalov alleged that the "bandits" were "policemen in civilian clothing" (ibid.) although according to The New York Times, police in Moscow claimed that the killing was the work of racketeers (15 May 1998). According to Alexander Ossipov, program officer of the Memorial Human Rights Centre in Moscow, the crime was committed by members of an "unidentified paramilitary-type group" which beat Caucasian merchants on a regular basis (18 May 1998). According to TASS, the Azerbaijan embassy "claimed a neo-Nazi motive" (8 May 1998) as did the Memorial Human Rights Centre (Sept. 1998), although Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov dismissed the ethnic basis of the incident claiming instead that it was a "trade conflict" (TASS 8 May 1998). In addition, Ossipov claimed that a local police detachment, which witnessed the incident, did not intervene  and that one of the attackers used a police walkie-talkie to call for backup support (18 May 1998).

Following the attack, 1,000 - 2,000 members of the Azeri community held a protest march (The New York Times 15 May 1998; Zeynalov 9 May 1998; Ossipov 18 May 1999; TASS 8 May 1998; RIA 7 May 1998). The demonstrators alleged "ethnic discrimination and unjust treatment of Azeri traders" and complained of "bribe-extorting policemen" in Moscow markets (ibid.) The protest was dispersed by the OMON, a special police detachment, and according to Ossipov, several people were "severely beaten," detained, and later released (18 May 1998; Zeynalov 9 May 1998). Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, in an interview with ORT television station, acknowledged that he had ordered the police to disperse the Azeris "by force" (Ossipov18 May 1998). On 9 May 1998, the Moscow Head Directorate of Internal Affairs announced that five people belonging to a criminal group were being held in connection with the killing (ibid.).

On 10 May 1998, a group of 200 hundred Russian teenagers attacked a group of Azeri traders in Udomol, Tver Oblast (IEWS Russian Regional Report 14 May 1998; Memorial Human Rights Centre Sept. 1998). Seven of the attackers were arrested and five of the Azeris sought medical treatment (IEWS Russian Regional Report 14 May 1998). According to the Memorial Human Rights Centre, local and regional authorities interpreted the event as a "spontaneous interethnic conflict" (Sept. 1998). None of the attackers was brought to court on charges (ibid.).

Also in 1998, Azerbaijani law enforcement agents, allegedly in collaboration with the St. Petersburg police, attempted to kidnap Ali Gassanov, an officially recognized Azerbaijani refugee living in St. Petersburg (HRW 1999). The Russian Procuracy General had previously turned down Azerbaijan's extradition request and ordered the St. Petersburg police to guarantee Gassanov's safety (ibid.).

On 2 February 1999, two unidentified men shot and wounded Gudsi Osmanov, the Azeri honorary consul in St. Petersburg on the premises of the consulate (Moscow NTV 1 Mar. 1999a; TASS 1 Mar. 1999; Mayak Radio Network 1 Mar. 1999; Moscow NTV 1 Mar. 1999b). St. Petersburg police claimed that the shooting was most likely linked to an internal conflict in the Azeri Diaspora and "street scenes" (ibid.).

The propiska, an official residency permit, is another source of discrimination used against Azeris and other Caucasians (AI Apr. 1997; IHF-HR 1999; Country Reports 1998 1999, 1457-1458). According to Amnesty International, the majority of cases of torture and ill-treatment of Azeris, Chechens, and Armenians happen after individuals are detained due to the fact that they do not have a valid propiska (Apr. 1997). According to Country Reports 1998, Moscow police conduct frequent document checks on people with dark skin who "appear to be from the Caucasus or elsewhere" (1999, 1458). The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights claims that the police "beat and harass" individuals with dark skin, gain forced entry into their homes, and destroy their identity documents (1999). According to Alexander Ossipov, a Caucasian cannot live in Moscow without being checked several times a day (19 May 1998). Aside from Moscow, UNHCR has cited St. Petersburg, Stavropol and Krasnodar as being the least open to migrants (Country Reports 1998 1999, 1457).

According to two reports, Azeris, Chechens, and other Caucasians have replaced Jews as the main target of "public ethnic xenophobia" (HRW Aug. 1998; The Moscow Times 17 Nov. 1998). In its annual report, Human Rights Watch reported that dark-skinned people constantly encounter harassment, threats, and violence from teenage groups (1999). A HRW survey revealed that 30 - 34 per cent of ethnic Russians were "distrustful" of Azeris, Armenians, and Chechens (ibid. 1998). According to Ossipov, a group of skinheads in Moscow threatened to kill a black person a day starting on Hitler's birthday, 20 April 1998 (19 May 1998). From then until the incident in Luzhniki, persons of African and Asian origin were assaulted and the police did not interfere (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Amnesty International (AI). April 1997. Torture in Russia: "This Man-Made Hell". (EUR 46/04/97) [Accessed 29 July 1999]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999. United States Department of State. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1999. World Report 1999: The Russian Federation. [Accessed 29 July 1999]

_____. August 1998. Russian Federation: Ethnic Discrimination in Southern Russia.

Institute for EastWest Studies (IEWS) Russian Regional Report. 14 May 1998. Vol. 3 No. 19. Excerpt from Kommersant Daily, 12 May 1998. "Tver Oblast Teenagers Attack Azerbaijani Traders." (MINELRES) [Accessed 30 July 1999]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF-HR). 1999. Annual Report 1999: Russia. [Accessed 29 July 1999]

ITAR-TASS News Agency (TASS). [Moscow] 1 March 1999. "Azeri Honorary Consul Wounded in St. Petersburg." (FBIS-SOV-1999-0301 2 Mar. 1999/WNC)

_____.  8 May 1998. "Moscow Mayor Denies Ethnic Motive Behind Murder of Trader." (NEXIS)

Mayak Radio Network. [Moscow] 1 March 1999. "Program Summary: Moscow Mayak Russian" (FBIS-SOV-1999-0301 2 Mar. 1999/WNC)

Memorial Human Rights Centre. [Moscow] September 1998. Updated Version. Compliance of the Russian Federation with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination: A Report submitted by the Memorial Human Rights Centre to the Session of the UNO Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 1998). [Accessed 3 Aug. 1999]

Moscow NTV. 1 March 1999a. "St. Petersburg Police Chief Views Azeri Consul Attack." (FBIS-SOV-1999-0301 2 Mar. 1999/WNC)

_____. 1 March 1999b. "Television Program Summary." (FBIS-SOV-1999-0302 3 Mar. 1999/WNC)

Moscow Times. 17 November 1998. Yulia Latynina. "Inside Russia: Caucasians are Real Victims of Discrimination." (NEXIS)

The New York Times. 15 May 1998. Celestine Bohlen. "Bomb at Moscow Synagogue Causes Extensive Damage." (NEXIS)

Ossipov, Alexander. Program Officer, Memorial Human Rights Centre. [Moscow] 19 May 1998. "Racism in Russia (II)." (MINELRES) [Accessed 30 July 1999]

_____. [Moscow] 18 May 1998. "Racism in Russia (I)." (MINELRES) [Accessed 30 July 1999]

RIA News Agency [Moscow, in English]. 7 May 1998. "Moscow Police Chief Comments on 'Riotous' Azerbaijani Protests." (BBC Summary 8 May 1998/NEXIS)

Zeynalov, Eldar. Director, Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan. [Baku] 9 May 1998.. "Azeri was Killed by Racists in Moscow." (MINELRES) [Accessed 29 July 1999]