Novorossiysk public organization liquidated by court decision

On December 8, 2003, the Primorsky District Court of Novorossiysk heard the case on the liquidation of the Fund "School of Peace". As a source at the Novorossiysk Committee on Human Rights reported, the Main Department of Justice in Krasnodar Territory demanded that the fund be liquidated, proceeding from the fact that two founding members left the organization, which was established in 1998, in 1999 and 2000. The only remaining founder can neither make changes to the Statute on his own nor engage new founders in. The Main Department of Justice in Krasnodar Territory was notified about this fact at once and allowed the Fund to continue its work in fact. However, according to human rights activists, the department of justice raised claims against "Scholl of Peace" in the spring of the current year, after the Security Council of Krasnodar Territory had made a decision to examine public organizations protecting rights of Turks-Meskhetians.

Moscow lawyer Ekaterina Bugayenko, who represented interests of the defendant, the Fund "School of Peace", in court on the initiative of the Independent Expert Legal Council, stated during a sitting of the court that the department of justice violated rights of the public association and Article 11 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which ensures freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association. Judge Konstantinova answered to the claim of the regional department of justice on the liquidation of the Fund "School of Peace", in spite the fact that the initialization of legal proceedings in order to liquidate the Fund judicially had no legal basis and there were no claims against the public association's activity provided by the Statute. An appeal against the court decision is being prepared now.