OVD-Info

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
OVD-Info
Native name
ОВД-Инфо
TypeNonprofit organization
Non-governmental organization
FoundedDecember 2011; 10 years ago (2011-12)
Headquarters
Moscow
,
Russia
Websiteovdinfo.org

OVD-Info (Russian: ОВД-Инфо) is an independent[1] Russian human rights media project aimed at combating political persecution.[2][3][4]

History[]

OVD-Info was founded in December 2011 by Moscow journalist Grigory Okhotin and programmer Daniil Beilinson. They witnessed mass arrests of participants in the rally on December 5, 2011 against the rigging of parliamentary elections. First, they posted on Facebook the total number of detainees and their names. Seeing the demand for their work, by December 10, on the eve of the rally on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow, they launched the OVD-Info website. The name of the project comes from the abbreviation Department of Internal Affairs (Russian: Отдел Внутренних Дел).[5][6]

Since February 1, 2013, the main partner of the project is the Memorial Human Rights Center.[7]

On 29 September 2021 the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation designated OVD-Info as a "foreign agent". Critics say the decision is designed to stifle dissent.[8][9][10]

On 25 December 2021 the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) blocked the website of OVD-Info after a court ruling. A representative for OVD-Info said that they had not received any notifications from the government and the reason for the blocking was unknown to them.[9][11][12]

Activities[]

Monitoring[]

OVD-Info monitors politically motivated persecutions and cases of abuse of authority by Russian police officers towards detainees. OVD-Info publishes information in the form of express news and stories told by the victims themselves.[13][14]

Legal assistance[]

The project provides legal assistance in the form of legal advice and a round-the-clock telephone hotline (through the hotline the project receives most of the information, which it then publishes in its bulletins on the website), visits of a lawyer to the police department, legal assistance in courts (up to filing a complaint to European Court of Human Rights).[13][14]

Informing[]

The project monitors cases of violence against political prisoners by Federal Penitentiary Service. The website also maintains a mailing list with reports on political persecution in Russia.[13][14]

OVD-Info publishes lists of detainees by police departments to which they were delivered. In 2018, the project assisted 660 people in police departments, about 200 people in administrative and 32 in criminal cases.[13][14]

The project covers events at many protests in Russia. In particular, OVD-Info published detailed statistics on arrests at anti-corruption protests in March 2017,[15][16] at protests against raising the retirement age in 2018.[17][18] In June 2019, the project played a significant role in drawing public attention to the case of journalist Ivan Golunov. At the same time, the project itself managed to become more widely known — on June 12, 2019, OVD-Info received an average monthly amount of donations in one day.[14]

Research[]

The project also publishes reports summarizing the practice of violations of the law regarding rallies and against civic activists by the Russian authorities.[19] In 2018—2019, reports were published on the topic of bans of rallies in Russian cities.[20]

Functioning and financing[]

As of June 2019, OVD-Info employs 28 people and another 300 people are volunteers. OVD-Info, due to limited resources, provides assistance only to those who find themselves under administrative or criminal prosecution as a result of expressing their civil position. The project is aimed at the development of civil society institutions and mechanisms of public control of the authorities and law enforcement agencies in Russia.[14]

The project is funded by voluntary donations from individuals, as well as assistance from the organization Memorial, the European Commission and the International Partnership for Human Rights (institutional donors provide about 70% of the budget). In 2018, OVD-Info managed to raise more than 19.8 million rubles, of which about 5.66 million were crowdfunded.[21] Russian banks — Tinkoff, Alfa-Bank and  [Wikidata] — refused OVD-Info acquiring to collect donations.[22] In 2013, the  [Wikidata] demanded that Memorial register as a foreign agent, since it receives funding from abroad to support the OVD-Info project, which was regarded by the prosecutor's office as political. According to the prosecutor's office, some of OVD-Info's data on politically motivated persecutions is not objective. OVD-Info says that it has no political orientation.[23][24]

Awards[]

July 2019: Redkollegia.[25]

2020:  [de].[26][27]

2021: Civil Rights Defender of the Year.[28] Leonid Drabkin (Russian: Леонид Драбкин), Operations Coordinator of OVD-Info, was selected to be a winner in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Social practices category.[29][30]

References[]

  1. ^ "Russia labels Mediazona, OVD-Info, and 2 journalists as 'foreign agents'". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  2. ^ "Submission from the NGOs "Human rights Center Memorial" and "OVD-Info" for a half-day general discussion in preparation for a General Comment on article 21 (right to peaceful assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". ohchr.org. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  3. ^ Sivtsova, Alexandra (2019-08-28). "'A little human rights buggy' The rise of 'OVD-Info,' Russia's lifeline for arrested protesters". Meduza. Translated by Kevin Rothrock. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  4. ^ "OVD-Info". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  5. ^ "Задержанный для нас априори прав" [The detainee is a priori right for us]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  6. ^ Volkov, Denis (2014). "«ОккупайАбай» – уличный протестный лагерь в Москве в мае 2012 года глазами его участников" [OccupyAbay – a street protest camp in Moscow in May 2012 through the eyes of its participants]. The Russian Public Opinion Herald (in Russian). doi:10.24411/2070-5107-2014-00021 – via CyberLeninka.
  7. ^ "Наши партнеры" [Our partners]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  8. ^ "OVD-Info was recognized as a foreign agent. What's next?". OVD-Info. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  9. ^ a b Soldatkin, Vladimir (2021-12-25). Lawson, Hugh (ed.). "Russia blocks website of OVD-Info protest-monitoring group". Reuters. Moscow. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  10. ^ Litvinova, Dasha (2021-12-25). "Russia blocks website of group that tracks political arrests". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  11. ^ "Russia blocks website of prominent protest monitoring group". Al Jazeera. 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  12. ^ "Russia Blocks Website Of Prominent Rights Monitor Amid Crackdown On Civil Society". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  13. ^ a b c d "Миссия и команда" [Mission and team]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Pavlova, Olga (2019-06-19). "В стране сотни «Иванов Голуновых»: как работает ОВД-Инфо" [There are hundreds of "Ivanov Golunovs" in the country: how OVD-Info works]. philanthropy.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  15. ^ Korzhova, Daria; Overchenko, Mikhail; Raibman, Natalia; Mukhametshina, Elena (2017-03-26). "Акция против коррупции в Москве: более 850 задержанных". Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  16. ^ "Задержания на «АнтиДимоне» в Москве" [Detentions on AntiDimon in Moscow]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  17. ^ "Акции против пенсионной реформы. Онлайн ОВД-Инфо" [Actions against pension reform. Online OVD-Info]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  18. ^ "В «ОВД-Инфо» сообщили о задержании не менее 1018 человек на акциях против пенсионной реформы в России" [OVD-Info reported on the detention of at least 1,018 people at protests against pension reform in Russia]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  19. ^ "Доклады" [Reports]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  20. ^ "«ОВД-Инфо» опубликовали доклад «Искусство запрещать»" [OVD-Info published a report The Art of Denying]. paperpaper.ru (in Russian). 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  21. ^ "Годовой отчет ОВД-Инфо 2018" [Annual report OVD-Info 2018]. ovdinfo.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  22. ^ Eremina, Anna; Mukhametshina, Elena (2016-01-25). "Банки отказали проекту «ОВД-инфо» в эквайринге для сбора пожертвований" [Banks refused to acquiring the OVD-info project to collect donations]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  23. ^ "Прокуратура сочла деятельность «Мемориала» и «ОВД-Инфо» политической" [The prosecutor's office considered the activities of Memorial and OVD-Info political]. bg.ru (in Russian). 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  24. ^ Smirnov, Sergey (2013-04-30). "Прокуратура требует, чтобы «Мемориал» встал на учет как иностранный агент" [Prosecutor's office demands that Memorial register as a foreign agent]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  25. ^ "Медиакоманда ОВД-Инфо" [OVD-Info media team]. Redkollegia (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  26. ^ "Премия им. Льва Копелева" [Lev Kopelev Prize]. kopelew-forum.de (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  27. ^ Romashenko, Sergey (2021-04-15). "Лидеры оппозиции в Беларуси удостоены премии имени Льва Копелева" [Opposition leaders in Belarus were awarded the Lev Kopelev Prize]. Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  28. ^ "Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2021 – OVD-Info". Civil Rights Defenders. 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  29. ^ Zakharov, Pavel. "Леонид Драбкин, 28" [Leonid Drabkin, 28]. 30-under-30.forbes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  30. ^ "Выпускники Вышки стали победителями рейтинга Forbes «30 до 30»" [HSE alumni have become the winners of the Forbes '30 to 30' rating]. Higher School of Economics (in Russian). 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-12-25.

External links[]

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