94 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 requirements which may even have affected their ability to conduct their work. Demonstrations Riot police (OMON) repeatedly used excessive force to disperse peaceful marches by political opposition groups (known as Dissenters’ Marches). In several Russian cities, including St Petersburg, Nizhnii Novgorod and Moscow, opposition groups and civil society activists were prevented from expressing their dissenting opinion during peaceful marches and demonstrations. Hundreds of people were detained prior to and during these marches. Many of them were charged with violations of the administrative code in trials which raised questions about the respect for international fair trial standards. During an unsanctioned march in Moscow on 14 April, but also at a sanctioned rally on the same day, police detained several journalists, ignoring the fact that they had identified themselves as press. A journalist for a Japanese TV company was badly injured by police. Following a sanctioned meeting in St. Petersburg on 15 April, the police detained and beat numerous people who were about to leave the place of the demonstration. Several people reported suffering concussions and other injuries for which they sought treatment. On 22 April several human rights defenders, who visited the places where the police had beaten and detained demonstrators the previous week, were also briefly detained but released without charge. Prior to a Dissenters’ March in the city of Samara at the time of the G8 summit, which was held in Samara Region, the offices of the local outlet of the newspaper Novaia Gazeta were raided and computers and other office equipment were confiscated. Several people, including a representative from Human Rights Watch, were prevented from flying to Samara to either participate in or monitor the march and the police response to it. Under the Amnesty International pretext of checking the validity of their tickets, several people were kept at the airport until the flight to Samara had left. Others were taken off the train to Samara and detained until it was too late to get there in time to attend the march. Gay pride parade banned On 27 May a group of Russian and foreign activists, including parliamentarians from different European countries, attempted to hand over a petition to Moscow mayor Yurii Luzhkov, asking him to respect and protect the rights of sexual minorities. The group was attacked by anti-gay rights activists, several of whom were beaten and had eggs and tomatoes thrown at them. The police detained some of the attackers and several of the gay rights activists, including a member of the German parliament and an Italian member of the European Parliament. The Russian organizer of the event was charged with breaking the law on demonstrations. Earlier that month, Yurii Luzhkov had banned a gay pride parade in Moscow. He also claimed that such gay pride parades were “satan’s work” and would never be allowed in Moscow. Closure of Foundation Educated Media In January the head of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Educated Media Foundation (formerly Internews), Manana Azlamazian, was stopped at customs at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. She had failed to declare money she had brought back to Russia when returning from a private trip to Paris. While according to Russian law, the maximum amount one can bring into the country is the equivalent of US$10,000, Manana Azlamazian had about 10,000 Euros (about US $13,000) on her person. She admitted her fault and declared that she had brought the money to Russia as a private person, not in her capacity as the head of an NGO. However, the investigation focussed on the work of the Educated Media Foundation. Criminal AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007