GENEVA,
November 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A U.N. panel
Friday, November 7, sharply criticized human rights violations in
Russia, highlighting the impunity of security forces in Chechnya and
the government's clampdown on Russian media, only hours after Italy's
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi jumped to the defense of Russia’s
Vladimir Putin, accusing the European media of "telling
tales" about the situation in Chechnya.
The
U.N. Human Rights Committee slated the ill-treatment of prisoners
under interrogation, executions and torture in the breakaway republic
of Chechnya, as well as state closures of independent television and
newspapers, after a regular examination of Russia, according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
Committee said in its concluding report that it was "deeply
concerned about continuing substantiated reports of human rights
violations in the Chechen Republic, including extra judicial killings,
disappearances and torture including rape".
It
also warned that 54 police and military personnel had been prosecuted
for crimes committed against civilians in Chechnya, but the sentences
did "not appear to correspond with the gravity of the acts".
Russia
"should ensure that abuse and violations are not committed with
impunity... including violations committed by military and law
enforcement personnel during counter-terrorist operations" and
the panel called for investigations of all cases.
The
report also voiced concern at closures or state takeovers of private
Russian media in recent years, inviting the government "to
protect media pluralism and avoid state monopolization of mass media,
which would undermine the principle of freedom of expression".
It
also cautioned against arrests of journalists on treason charges,
although their work was of "legitimate public interest",
according to the experts.
"We
were certainly concerned about a substantial number of things and it's
quite a long list," Sir Nigel Rodley, one of the members of the
18-strong panel of legal experts, was quoted by AFP, as saying.
"There
were... very important areas of great concern to the Committee, areas
where perhaps a more established judiciary would have been able to
address some of the problems that we did have to deal with,"
Rodley told journalists.
However,
the panel's final observations praised legislative progress in Russia
in recent years and efforts to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
The
U.N. Committee checks on the application of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, which has been signed by 151 countries
including Russia.
Berlusconi
Plays Putin's Lawyer Over Chechnya
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Putin (L) and Berlusconi (AFP)
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The
U.N. report was released only hours after Berlusconi took on the role
of Putin's "lawyer" Thursday and accused the European media
of "telling tales" about the situation in Chechnya, where
Russian troops are accused of killing civilians in the war against
separatist rebels.
Berlusconi's
extraordinary attack on the press and his defense of Moscow's dubious
human rights record in the war-battered Caucasus republic came during
a joint news conference following an EU-Russia summit in Rome.
Berlusconi
interjected when the Russian President was asked a question about the
rule of law in Russia, against the background of the Yukos scandal and
the situation in Chechnya, which have provoked widespread concern in
Europe and the United States.
"I
beg Putin's pardon, but now I'm intervening as his un-requested
defense lawyer," said the Prime Minister, before launching into a
scathing attack on the press, according to AFP.
Placing
a protective hand on Putin's arm, Berlusconi said: "Sorry, but I
must intervene as your defense lawyer."
"The
truth is that there are often distortions in the press, in Italy as
abroad. It's the same thing as far as Chechnya and the Yukos story is
concerned," said Berlusconi, whose own media empire has made him
Italy's richest man.
The
conservative Prime Minister, who has frequently accused the Italian
press and judiciary of left-wing bias, said he knew the "reality
of the situation in Russia" through Italians living there and it
was clear "that the two issues are distorted by the
newspapers."
"Oil
companies are violating the law," Berlusconi said, while the
authorities "are showing a willingness to be transparent and
fighting corruption."
The
question of Moscow's human rights record was not mentioned in the
final declaration of the summit released before the news conference,
although the European Commission said it had sought and received
assurances that Putin would not wield the law in a
"discriminatory" manner.
Accusing
European media of "telling tales" about the situation in
Chechnya, Berlusconi said Moscow was responding to what he termed
“terrorist attacks”.
"As
a real friend of the Russian Federation, and with all the esteem I
have for Mr Putin, I don't understand why they continue to tell
tales," he told reporters.
Berlusconi
said that as far as Italy was concerned, there was no risk to press
freedom, given that "85 percent of the written press is critical
or hostile" to his government.
"But
however, I continue to read that there is no freedom of the press in
Italy," he added.
He
said jokingly that he would send Putin a fee of one euro for his
services. The Russian President replied: "I'm ready to pay a
euro. Finally, Russia has a serious lawyer."
But
the European Commission took issue Friday with the outburst by
Berlusconi on Russia's Yukos affair and Chechnya, as the Italian
leader once again plunged the EU into a full-blown diplomatic row.
The
EU executive, reiterating notably its concern over the controversy
surrounding the Russian oil company Yukos whose tycoon boss resigned
this week after being arrested, also suggested that Berlusconi - who
currently holds the EU's six-month presidency - was at odds with the
EU member states he is supposed to represent.
"We
do not share the view of Prime Minister Berlusconi" on either the
Yukos issue or the dragging conflict in the Russian republic of
Chechnya, said commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen, adding he would
describe Berlusconi's comments as "personal remarks."
"The
commission position and in so far as we know the position of the
member states is rather clear and not exactly the same as expressed
yesterday" by Berlusconi in Rome, he added, according to AFP.
