Orlov tells court about his work in Northern Caucasus

Oleg Orlov, accused of discrediting the Russian Army, was questioned in a Moscow court. He explained that human rights defenders are not enemies of the state, but are obliged to criticize it if it violates human rights, recalling his human rights activities in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

During the interrogation, Orlov noted that "human rights defenders are not enemies of the state." "Efficiently functioning state machinery can suppress citizens' rights and freedoms. And then, human rights defenders are obliged to criticize the authorities," he has explained.

He cited as an example how he had defended the rights and freedoms of residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia. "It is very important to understand that human rights defenders cannot be pro-government or pro-oppositional. For example, we interacted well with the head of Ingushetia Evkurov (a former head of Ingushetia (in 2008-2019), now Deputy Minister of Defence of Russia Yunus-Bek Evkurov). But when in Ingushetia protests broke out for his resignation, we, without taking any political position, made sure that protesters' rights were not violated," Orlov said.

He also spoke about the work of the Human Right Centre (HRC) "Memorial"* in the conflict zone in Ukraine. According to him, the HRC was not complimentary to either side and always tried to help people, and also recalled the OSCE reports, according to which the number of civilian deaths in the conflict zone had decreased significantly by 2020.

Oleg Orlov has noted that in the article, which became the basis for his accusation of discrediting the Russian Army, he "did not discredit anyone."

*On December 29, 2021, by the decision of the Moscow City Court, the Russian legal entities of the "International Memorial" and the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" were liquidated. Activists of the organizations have reported that both organizations will continue their work without forming legal entities.