SOVA Center took part in the OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw on September 26 - October 7, 2022. Below is the SOVA's statement along with the relevant recommendations for the session "Tolerance and Non-Discrimination II".

Since February 24, numerous new laws and law enforcement practices have developed in Russia which excessively restrict freedom of expression. One of those laws even provides for a possibility of closing mass media without a court decision. Those issues were discussed at a side event yesterday; other Russian human rights defenders have already reported and will report more on that matter during the conference as well. We urge the OSCE member states against introduction of such restrictions when facing crisis situations from which no country is immune.
I would mention several relevant law enforcement practices of recent years pertaining specifically to the sphere of counter-extremism.
First, the number of criminal cases on calls to terrorism and extremism has risen. General public has no possibility to assess the claims since the court decisions in such cases are not being published, the proceedings are hardly accessible, and so there is almost no information on the prosecutions. When we manage to get information on some of the cases, we may often conclude that the courts do not assess or overestimate the threat of the statements in question and impose disproportionate penalties.
Second, protesting by means of graffiti and other visual instruments which do not cause much damage, such as painting the water in a fountain red, is more and more often qualified as vandalism based on political hatred, an offence which implies disproportionately harsh sanctions.
Third, while the conflicts concerning content regulation on Facebook and Instagram between the Meta Corporation and the state previously resulted in huge fines – which was a matter of concern – this year the whole functioning of these media platforms has been deemed extremist.
Fourth, the Russian authorities widely used the sanctions provided for display of banned symbols not intended as promotion of any anti-constitutional views. This year, the sanctions, which were applied more and more widely, have been tightened so more repression is anticipated.
Finally, we are concerned about sanctions for ‘equating the acts of Stalin’s and Hitler’s regimes’ against those who do not promote Nazism but expose Stalinism.
We again urge the Russian Federation to repeal numerous excessive restrictions related to freedom of expression which have been introduced in recent years. SOVA Center also proposes broader recommendations to all the OSCE member states.

Recommendations

To the participating states:

1.    Bring national legislations and practices related to countering terrorism and extremism in line with the international human rights standards.
2.    Ensure that the definitions of terrorist and extremist activity in relevant laws are as clear as possible to eliminate the chance for an expansive interpretation.
3.    Revise the legal definition of extremism in national legislations, if present so that this concept refers only to actions connected in one way or another with the use of violence.
4.    Freedom of conscience and belief as such should not be subject to additional restrictions within the framework of anti-terrorism or anti-extremist legislation.
5.    Ensure that criminal law articles relating to public statements criminalize only statements that call for discrimination and violence. Incitement to hatred based on group characteristics – such as race, ethnicity, religion, etc – may be an exception. The list of protected characteristics should not include any vague criteria, as the lack of clarity leads to abuse.
6.    Ensure that the wording and application of the relevant criminal code articles meet the threshold of public danger of the statements in question. The criteria presented in the six-part test in the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of hatred can be used as guidelines.
7.    Repeal the restrictions of historical debates if present in national legislations.
8.    Elaborate balanced and accurate approaches to cooperation with media platforms concerning the online content regulation.

To ODIHR:

1.    Update the OSCE recommendations related to countering terrorism and extremism in view of the latest developments of national legislations and the human rights obligations of the OSCE member states.
2.    Renew and mediate a constructive dialogue between the participating states in all diversity of their anticipations and the global online platforms to elaborate more balanced and effective policies of online content regulation.