Document - RUSSIE. Tournée d'été européenne du bus de défense des droits humains

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Media Advisory

AI Index: EUR 46/066/2003 (Public)

News Service No: 176

24 July 2003

Russian Federation: European summer human rights bus tour

A brightly decorated bus -- bearing the name of Amnesty International and Swiss registration plates -- is travelling around Europe this summer offering people the chance to be informed about human rights abuses in the Russian Federation.

Amnesty International Switzerland launched the 100-day tour of a number of Central and East European countries in July as part of the human rights' organization's worldwide year-long campaign on human rights in the Russian Federation. Members of Amnesty International will use the tour stops to raise the organization's main concerns on human rights abuses in the Russian federation, many of which are committed with impunity.

An exhibition as well as videos produced by Amnesty International provide information about torture and ill-treatment in custody; violence against women; discrimination on ethnic grounds; unlawful killings and 'disappearances' in the Chechen Republic. People in different European cities will have the chance to sign a petition urging President Vladimir Putin to take action for hundreds of thousands of former Soviet citizens in Russia who are being denied their legal right to obtain Russian citizenship and/or permanent residency rights. When former Soviet passports expire on 31 December 2003, these people will be left stateless and may face the threat of deportation.

"We will continue to explain to everybody at each of our stops the aims of our campaign on human rights in the Russian Federation 'Justice for All'. Human rights abuses in the Russian Federation have affected thousands of people. We will continue to collect as many signatures as possible to highlight the need to improve the human rights situation," Daniel Bolomey, Secretary General of Amnesty International Switzerland said.

For more information please contact Amnesty International's Sections and Structures in:

Austria: tel. +43 1 780 08; e-mail: info@amnesty.at;

Poland: tel. +48 58 341 5792; e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.org.pl;

Slovenia: tel. +386 14 393 825; e-mail: amnesty.slo@guest.arnes.si;

Switzerland: tel. +41 31 307 2222; e-mail: info@amnesty.ch

Czech Republic: tel. +4202 2494 6993; e-mail: amnesty@amnesty.cz;

Hungary: tel. +361 302 5062; e-mail: info@amnesty.hu;

Slovakia: tel. +4212 5441 9660; e-mail: amnesty@internet.sk.

The European summer human rights bus tour started on 12 July in the Swiss town of Yverdon. You can follow its journey in:

Austria until 26 July;

Slovenia - 28-30 July;

Hungary - 1-5 August;

Slovakia - 6-13 August;

Czech Republic - 14-19 August;

Poland - 20-31 August.

After that the bus will proceed to Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Public Document

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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

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