Karinna Akopovna Moskalenko (russian: Кари́нна Ако́повна Москале́нко) (born February 9, 1954 in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
,
Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
) is
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's leading human rights
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
,
and a member of
Moscow Helsinki Group
The Moscow Helsinki Group (also known as the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group, russian: link=no, Московская Хельсинкская группа) is today one of Russia's leading human rights organisations. It was originally set up in 1976 ...
who defended, amongst others,
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...
,
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
and
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...
. She won the first ever case against Russian Federation heard in public hearings of the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
.
Human rights advocate
Moskalenko studied law at
Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
(graduated in 1976) and later specialized in Human Rights at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in the UK (graduated in 1994). She and her team at Moscow’s
International Protection Centre have won 27 cases against the Russian government at the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
in Strasbourg and have more than 100 applications pending.
Russian Prosecutor-General initiated a case to
disbar
Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal con ...
Moskalenko on the grounds of having negligently defended
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...
, the former owner of
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovs ...
. However, Moscow Collegium of advocates, which rules on such cases, decided the case to be politically motivated and allowed her to continue the practice Khodorkovsky himself has made no complaint and has declared himself “fully satisfied” with Moskalenko’s work.
Moskalenko is also on the International Advisory Board of the
Media Legal Defence Initiative
Media Defence (registered company name: Media Legal Defense Initiative) is a non-governmental organization established in 2008 to provide legal assistance to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media institutions. It also supports trai ...
, a UK-based charity that provides legal aid and assistance to journalists and news media organizations around the world, supports training in media law and promotes the exchange of information, litigation tools and strategies for lawyers working on media freedom cases.
In 2010, she was the fifteenth prize-winner of
Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize
The Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, or Ludovic Trarieux Award, is an international human rights award given annually to a lawyer for contributions to the defence of human rights.
History
The Prize was inaugurated in Bordeaux i ...
("The award given by lawyers to a lawyer"), reserved each year to a lawyer who thoroughout his or her career has illustrated, by activity or suffering, the defence of human rights in the world.
Poisoning by mercury
On 14 October 2008, her husband had discovered “about 10 little pellets of liquid metal” in their car, "on the floor of both the driver and the passenger sides of the vehicle".
Toxicologists identified the metal as poisonous
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, which Moskalenko claimed was an apparent effort to poison her family and prevent her from appearing in court in Moscow. She said she became sick two days before she was scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Moscow on the murder of journalist and Kremlin critic
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (;, ; uk, Ганна Степанівна Політковська , 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist, who reported on political events in Russia, in partic ...
.
On 22 October 2008, it was reported that French police investigating the case managed to find the previous owner, who gave a statement that he broke a
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
in the car shortly before selling it to Moskalenko.
Peter Lavelle
Peter John Lavelle (born February 28, 1961) is an American journalist and host of ''CrossTalk'', a political talk show on the English-language TV channel RT, which is controlled by the Russian state. Lavelle, originally from Beverly Hills, Calif ...
, a journalist for ''
Russia Today
RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya (russian: Россия Сегодня) is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels ...
'' stated that Moskalenko admits she had not cleaned the car since she bought it from the antiques dealer in August 2008. The revelation came ten days after the initial report, which saw Kremlin critics and some media outlets, including the
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
,
Lev Ponomaryov
Lev Aleksandrovich Ponomaryov (russian: Лев Алекса́ндрович Пономарёв, September 2, 1941) is a Russian political and civil activist. He is an executive director of the all-Russian movement "For Human Rights." He is a mem ...
, the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', and ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'',
Silencing critics
/ref> accusing Russian security services, and Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
himself, of orchestrating the poisoning in an attempt to intimidate or eliminate the vocal critic of the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
.
See also
Viktor Kalashnikov and Marina Kalashnikova - journalists who claim to have been poisoned with mercury by the Russian authorities
References
External links
Her official biography (Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moskalenko, Karinna
1954 births
Living people
Lawyers from Baku
Russian people of Armenian descent
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
Russian human rights activists
Women human rights activists
Moscow Helsinki Group
Yukos
20th-century Russian lawyers
21st-century Russian lawyers
Russian women lawyers
20th-century women lawyers
21st-century women lawyers
20th-century Russian women