UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders concerned about enforced disappearance of Iryna Danylovych

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor expressed concern over the enforced disappearance of citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych in Crimea. 

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression sent a joint communication to the government of the Russian Federation on August 30, 2022. However, the communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government replied on September 9, 2022. 

Since the communication was sent, Danylovych has remained in pre-trial detention. Her criminal trial started on August 29, 2022, and the court is currently examining evidence and considering the merits of the case. Reports received by the Special Rapporteur indicate that there may have been fair trial violations in her court proceedings thus far. 

In the communication, the special rapporteurs expressed concern over the alleged enforced disappearance of Iryna Danylovych, her alleged arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, criminalization, home search and seizure of her electronic devices and documents, as well as her designation as a “mass media foreign agent”. 

“We also express our concern about the alleged irregularities in Ms. Danylovych’s arrest and the lack of judicial guarantees provided to her during her detention, which appear to be incompatible with the right to fair trial and due process. We underline that all individuals, regardless of the severity of the charges brought against them, have a right to due process and fair trial, in compliance with the rule of law,” the communication reads. 

Moreover, the special rapporteurs expressed their grave concern regarding the continuous intimidation and harassment of the human rights defenders in Crimea in connection to their human rights work, in particular, the chilling effect that this could have on human rights defenders in Crimea, discouraging them from exercising their rights: “We remind the Government of Russia of the importance of ensuring that national security is not used to unjustifiably or arbitrarily restrict the right to freedom of opinion and expression. These rights are protected under the ICCPR, and the non-violent exercise of these rights cannot be a criminal offense.”