Toggle navigation menu.
Helsinki Default Banner

Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Again Calls Upon Russian Officials to Prevent Murder in St. Petersburg

WASHINGTON – This is an update to Commission release of February 19: On February 19, Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) called upon the authorities of the Russian city of St. Petersburg to act immediately to prevent the murder of Inga Ivanova, director of the Prins Maurits school of Open Christianity. Since then the situation at the school has deteriorated. Police sent to the school have entered the building and gathered the parents, children and teachers in the chapel.

The parties are at a stand-off but the environment is very tense. The school is asking for international intervention to prevent any violence, and for the international community to seek city Governor Vladimir Jakovlev’s intervention to resolve this dispute peacefully.

Reprise of the February 19 release:

“Local officials must intervene immediately to prevent another murder similar to that of human rights activist and Duma member Galina Starovoitova,” said Smith. “Great issues are at stake here for the Russian people. Are they to be at the mercy of thugs and brigands, or live in a nation of law and justice? It is up to the current officials to insure that it is the latter.”

Smith was referring to recent alarming reports that on the night of February 17 Inga Ivanova was seized by three men, pulled into a car and threatened with death if she continued to fight for the legal right to keep the building where the school is located. Fearing for her life, Ivanova fled to the Netherlands. Earlier, on the evening of February 17, St. Petersburg television had aired a program depicting the school with its 150 children and the 40 students of the pedagogical academy as being run by “sects” and representing a threat to Russian society.

“Who runs St. Petersburg, the law or the criminals?” asked Smith. “The armed threats on the life of Inga Ivanova over a piece of property are another indication that the civil authorities have abdicated their responsibilities to protect life and have turned the streets over to criminal elements. One would think that with the still unsolved murder of Galina Starovoitova last year, and with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly scheduled to meet this July in St. Petersburg, city authorities would struggle to prevent letting thugs run rampant in the city. I urge Governor Yakovlev to stop these threats against Inga Ivanova, find the purveyors of this assault and bring the parties guilty of this latest outrage to justice.”

The Open Christianity school was established in the early 1990s as an ecumenical private school. According to records provided by Ivanova, the building that houses the school was given “in perpetuity” to the Open Christianity organization by city officials under the condition that the building be restored. Volunteers from the Netherlands, United States and Russia have assisted in the restoration. Nevertheless, city officials are now trying to seize the building for alleged breach of contract, sending police to forcibly seize the premises.

Media contact

Category
Country
Issue
Date
Filter Topics Open Close
Press Releases

Co-Chairman Cohen Calls for the Release of Political...

Aug 09, 2022

Washington – On the second anniversary of the sham presidential election in Belarus, the Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman and OSCE PA Special Representative on Political Prisoners Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement: “Two years ago today, Belarus’s autocrat Aleksander Lukashenko put up a show of an election that he had hoped would legitimize his […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

CO-CHAIRMAN COHEN CALLS FOR THE RELEASE OF ALAA ABD ...

Aug 04, 2022

WASHINGTON— Concerning Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s imprisonment, Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Political Prisoners Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) released a letter calling for Secretary Blinken to prioritize “the swift release of Mr. Abd el-Fattah”. The letter read in part: “In 2011, the people of Egypt achieved something remarkable – they ousted […]

screen-reader-text
Digests

Helsinki Commission Digital Digest July 2022

Jul 29, 2022

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Co-Chairman Cohen Condemns Execution of Democracy Ac...

Jul 28, 2022

WASHINGTON—Following the execution of four democracy activists by Myanmar’s military junta, Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Political Prisoners Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement: “I strongly condemn the execution of these courageous activists by Myanmar’s unelected and illegitimate regime. These men—Kyaw Min Yu, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo […]

screen-reader-text
Statements

Wicker Stands in Solidarity With Russian Dissident

Jul 28, 2022

WASHINGTON – Mr. President, I rise this afternoon to make sure that the plight of Russian leader Vladimir Kara-Murza is not forgotten. That the outrageous imprisonment of Vladimir Kara-Murza by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is not forgotten. We remember three decades ago what hope we had for a new Russia. Russia entered a new […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Urges Administration to Work to ...

Jul 25, 2022

WASHINGTON—Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) today released a letter urging the Biden Administration to “use every instrument in our toolbox” to free Russian political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza. The letter read in part: “The United States […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Delegation Convenes Historic Bla...

Jul 14, 2022

WASHINGTON—From June 29 – July 9, Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) led a bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation to Romania, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Sweden to consult with senior officials across Europe about Russia’s war on Ukraine, security in the Black Sea region, and Finland and Sweden’s plans to join NATO. On […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Slams Legislation in Belarus tha...

May 20, 2022

WASHINGTON—Following the approval of legislation in Belarus that would apply the death penalty to pro-democracy activists and those opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine, and ahead of the May 21 commemoration of the Day of Political Prisoners in Belarus, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Ranking Members Sen. Roger […]

screen-reader-text
helsinki commission logo 368x331
Digests

Helsinki Commission Digital Digest January 2022

Jan 31, 2022

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Marks One-Year Anniversary of Na...

Jan 14, 2022

WASHINGTON—Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s arrest on January 17, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statements: “In the past year, while Alexei Navalny has remained unjustly imprisoned, the Kremlin has […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Calls for Peaceful Solution in K...

Jan 06, 2022

WASHINGTON—In response to the violent clashes between protesters and authorities in Kazakhstan, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following joint statement: “We are deeply concerned about the situation in Kazakhstan and condemn the violence that […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Supports Invocation of OSCE’s Vi...

Nov 10, 2021

WASHINGTON—Following the invocation of the OSCE’s Vienna Mechanism to address the mounting human rights crisis in Belarus, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following joint statement: “One year after the release of a comprehensive, […]

screen-reader-text