Radio Liberty: Vera Vasilieva Reports on Moscow Helsinki Group’s Award Ceremony, Where Presenters Discussed Alexey Pichugin’s Fate
May 15, 2018
Every year, the Moscow Helsinki Group awards its annual human rights prize. In a new piece for Radio Liberty, Russian journalist Vera Vasilieva discusses this year’s ceremony, during which Moscow Helsinki Group lawyer Karinna Moskalenko invoked Alexey Pichugin’s plight as Russia’s longest-serving political prisoner.
Mr. Pichugin was recently acknowledged as political prisoner by the Memorial Human Rights Centre, an organization that had previously recognized Ms. Vasilieva “for journalistic activity in promoting human rights values.” Ms. Vasilieva argues that if the media’s and public’s attention is consistently focused on the fates of Mr. Pichugin and other political prisoners, these people can be helped – and that journalism and human rights advocacy both have an important role to play in this effort.
Below is the full text of Ms. Vasilieva’s piece for Radio Liberty:
Don’t be silent. Vera Vasilieva on human rights advocacy and journalism
Vera Vasilieva
The Moscow Helsinki Group awarded its annual human rights prize. Since 2016, this ceremony has been linked to the May 12th date, when [back in 1976] the Public Group for Assisting Compliance with the Helsinki Accords in the USSR was created. Prizes are awarded in 10 categories, including journalist activity in promoting human rights values.
Is a journalist a human rights advocate? A human rights advocate’s goal is todefend the rights of the people. Or rather help them realize their rights and teachthem to protect them. A journalist’s goal is to cover events objectively. Still, I think these two areas have a lot in common. I see the commonality primarily in two aspects. First, I see it in the journalist’s moral responsibility for how what he writes reflects on the lives of the people he writes about. And, second, I see it in our ability to affect a situation, which is especially important in a country that is not free.
It’s not true that we are powerless. Everyone, especially a well-known journalist who covers legal issues, can affect a lot, and sometimes we can turn the tide. It’s enough to recall what happened with Dr. Elena Misiurina or head of Memorial Society’s Karelian branch Yuri Dmitriev, this year’s recipient of the Moscow Helsinki Group’s award in the “For historic contribution to human rights advocacy and the human rights advocacy movement” category. Their release from jail is certainly thanks to a great many people, not just journalists. But it’s clear that it’s the publicity, the public interest, the non-silence that made it possible to loosen the oppressive system’s grip.
Actually, these victories are just a tiny part of what is yet to be done. Still in prisonon highly dubious drug possession charges is Grozny Memorial branch head Oyub Titiyev, the Moscow Helsinki group’s 2018 award recipient for courage displayed in protecting human rights. At the awards ceremony, mention was made of Gogol Center general manager Alexei Malobrodsky, charged in the “Seventh Studio”case. His health deteriorated so much behind bars that alarmed observers are likening his situation to what became of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky – who died at Matrosskaya Tishina [jail].
That’s what I think human rights advocacy and journalism have in common: not keeping silent.
During the ceremony, Moscow Helsinki group lawyer Karinna Moskalenko talked about the former Yukos staffer acknowledged as political prisoner by the Memorial Human Rights Centre – Alexei Pichugin (I received Memorial’s prize in the “For journalistic activity in promoting human rights values” category for covering his and other cases). I am thoroughly convinced that if the media’s and public attention is constantly focused on Pichugin’s, Malobrodsky’s, Titiyev’s situation and if, wherever Russia’s top officials go they are met with questions about these people and others needing protection, then these people, too, can be helped, just as it was possible to help Dmitriev and Misiurina.
Memories fade as time passes; that’s human nature. What was a hot topicyesterday, what was passionately discussed, what deeply concerned lots of people, takes a back seat and is eclipsed by new events, and the most acute pain is dulled. But what isn’t dulled is the suffering of those actually living through the tragedy. Human rights advocates and journalists must not stop talking and writing aboutthose who are in prison unfairly simply because they’ve been in prison for years (like, for example, Pichugin, who’s been behind bars longer than any other modern Russian political prisoner – almost 15 years) and it’s no longer news. It was only after Sergei Magnitsky’s death that the public found out about him. Was it perhaps because, among other reasons, his fate was so tragic?
Scientist Igor Sutyagin, whom the FSB unlawfully charged with espionage and who spent 11 years in prison, wrote a short story titled “Don’t be silent!” In the story he says: “Please don’t be silent. Don’t be afraid of possible repercussions for the convict – they won’t be as bad as the silence surrounding him would be, and most likely there won’t be any repercussions at all. Even at a distance, you will defend the person with your words, with your non-indifference. And what’s most important, you will give him the strength, so very needed “behind the fence” in order to persevere. When you have energy you can “realize the inevitability” and thus get back the freedom that was taken away. And it’s very hard to live without freedom, especially in jail. So for the sake of those locked away today (alas, there are lots of us), please be with them, and don’t be silent. Don’t be silent!”
That’s what I think human rights advocacy and journalism have in common: not being silent.
Vera Vasilieva is an independent journalist who spearheads Radio Liberty’s “Freedom and Memorial” project. She was awarded the Moscow Helsinki Group prizes in human rights advocacy in 2018
The opinions expressed in the Blogs column may not [necessarily] reflect those of the editors.
Translation from Russian original; all bracketed text added by translator.
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