Violation of human rights in Russia is criminal liability

Any discrimination that is applied towards an individual must be suppressed. That is why there is a special article about the infringement of human rights, violating which the offender will be punished. In the legislation of the Russian Federation, this concept is applied specifically and mainly includes two main ones: violation of interests at the level of the law and treatment of the victim as a separate social race.

To protect their own rights, each person can go to a human rights court and demand punishment for their offender.

How rights are violated

Despite the fact that many countries actively use the document, according to which a ban on cruel treatment of people is established, cases of violation of individual freedoms are still common. Infringement of human rights in the criminal procedural legislation of the Russian Federation indicates that confiscation of property or even a fine may be used as punishment. In Russia, facts have been recorded of the issuance of special acts that directly contain provisions that are not related to the Constitution; this indicates a direct violation.

Violations of rights: the law to protect citizens

Such actions are considered a criminal violation. But many of our compatriots are so legally illiterate that they are ready to endure it every time without trying to protect themselves. I don't want to impinge on anyone's level of education, but this is true. In my work, I often come across complaints that a boss humiliated me in front of employees at a meeting or insulted a neighbor on the landing. This and much more is nothing more than a violation of human rights in Russia, and evil must be punished. Therefore, simple tips will help to resist such chaos.

Such violations include:

• violations in labor relations;
• discrimination;
• refusal to hire;
• illegal dismissal;
• expulsion from an educational institution without specific reasons (racial discrimination, for example);
• refusal to receive explanations regarding the violation of freedom;
• non-payment for services rendered or work performed.

Attention! Any case that involves humiliation or insults can be linked to this article and require criminal prosecution of the offender.

But the majority of our fellow citizens continue to remain silent, giving the opportunity to outright boors and criminals to act in a similar way towards other people. Some people explain this by saying they don’t want publicity. Others say: he’s the boss, he can do anything.

Here I remembered a slogan from the time of the union, which said that the buyer is always right. But how many times have I personally seen scenes in supermarkets where the “right” buyer openly insults the cashier or seller. Afraid of losing their jobs, the women simply remained silent, washing themselves with tears. I have stopped this kind of chaos many times. But I wasn't always there. Everyone is able to protect themselves on their own.

It is enough to make it clear to the insolent person that there is an article of the Criminal Code and by his action he clearly violates it. After all, there are so many witnesses in the store. They will definitely appear in court. This practice discourages violators. They fall silent and retreat, but do not make a public apology. And what do modern collectors do when trying to extort a debt from a debtor? This is generally a separate category of citizens for whom the law is not written. This is complete discrimination against a person who finds himself in a difficult financial situation and his close circle, which falls under several more articles:

• humiliation;
• disclosure of confidential information;
• extortion.

But as a practicing lawyer, I very rarely come across lawsuits from people who want to protect their rights. This is a mess. Nothing like this should happen in the 21st century. After all, we live in a developed state, and not a capitalist country where the rich can humiliate the poor. But even there people have already learned to defend their rights. The situation in the Russian Federation is simply terrifying, and the time to change everything has not come today, it came several decades ago.

Rights

First of all, when we talk about the protection of human rights, the protection of the individual himself is mainly discussed. Controversial issues often arise that are related to the protection of the well-being of the individual, the health of individuals, the environment, as well as ensuring law and order. Let's consider the main points when human rights and freedoms are infringed:

1. Any encroachment on the life of an individual can be regarded as a violation of inviolability.

   

2. Particular attention is paid to the proceedings in court cases that are related to justice.
3. Everyone has the right to participate in elections.
4. In no case is it allowed either by the state or by other persons to prohibit expressing one’s thoughts or believing in one’s religion.
5. Everyone has the right to express their own opinion.
6. Everyone has the right to independently dispose of their property. Naturally, these are not all rights that can be infringed in some way, but even the smallest infringement must be punished, which is determined by the court.

Human rights violations are as varied as human activities. There are cruel and cynical, barbaric violations of human rights. Numerous groups of people, and sometimes entire nations, become victims of violations. It is these blatant violations that progressive forces are trying to eliminate from the life of humanity.

Among the violations of human rights we will name such as: genocide, apartheid, racism, discrimination against national minorities.

These violations are serious crimes. They are closely interconnected, the motives for their commission are related.

Genocide

(from Greek genos - clan, tribe and Latin ceado - I kill) - one of the most serious crimes against humanity, the extermination of certain groups of the population for racial, national, religious, political and other reasons. Genocide also recognizes the creation of conditions for the physical or mental destruction of groups of people and nations.

The history of mankind knows more than one example of the physical destruction of entire nations. It is enough to mention the struggle of the Americans with the original inhabitants of the American continent - the Indians.

The 20th century is cruel too. Two bloody world wars, atrocities of totalitarian regimes. Fascism (primarily German) is responsible for genocide against a number of peoples, primarily Slavs, Jews and Gypsies. About 50 million people died in the war unleashed by the Nazis. The most numerous victims were suffered by Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Belarusians, Serbs, Jews and Germans.

The world was shocked by the tragedy of the Jews, against whom the punitive actions of the Nazis were used with particular cruelty.

In Russia, during the years of the Stalinist regime, concentration camps were organized for compatriots, extrajudicial mass repressions and even evictions of entire peoples were carried out.

Apartheid

(in Afrikaans apartheid - separate living) is an extreme form of discrimination against people of color that existed in the Republic of South Africa. Currently, the situation there has changed for the better, but elements of apartheid can also be found in other seemingly civilized countries. Alas, even in our time we have to talk about some former republics of the USSR: the Russian-speaking population, which has not received, for example, Latvian citizenship, is subjected to discrimination in this country in political and other areas.

Racism

appears not only in the form of apartheid. Its most widespread embodiment is fascism. The essence of racism is to justify the inequality of human races, the decisive influence of racial differences on the historical development of peoples and countries, the predominance of some races over others. Racism can be white, black, red and other, depending on which race representatives defend their advantage. To be a racist, it is not necessary to know the “theories” of racial superiority of J.A. Gobineau, B. Kidd, O. Ammon and others, but it is enough to say with some superiority about the inhabitants of Africa: “These blacks...”

Among the various forms of discrimination, one of the most dangerous is discrimination against national minorities.

. There are quite a few regions in the world where the rights of national minorities are violated. Some independent states that formed on the territory of the USSR did not solve the problem either. One can assess the process of sovereignization of the former Soviet republics in different ways, but one thing is difficult to deny: the rights of individuals, human rights, were either not thought at all, or were thought of as an afterthought.

In addition to these massive violations of human rights that are deadly for large groups of people, there are many other, not so barbaric, not so blatant, not always bloody and painful. This doesn't make them any more tolerant. For any, even seemingly insignificant, violation of human rights and freedoms denies the entire institution of human rights and reveals disdain for man, his honor and dignity. Behind the common concept of “violation of human rights” there are not only mountains of corpses, the suffering eyes of children and old people, “punished” peoples, but also millions of people who drank themselves to death from despair, from longing for freedom, from impotent resentment, hundreds of thousands of unfulfilled creative destinies, unclaimed talents.

The most widespread violations of human rights occur today in the economic, social and cultural fields. Thus, despite the measures taken today by the Government of the Russian Federation, pensioners, the disabled, the sick, large families, and children from “families with modest incomes” who are doomed to vegetation are often in distress. All this is a quiet disregard for vital human rights.

Society will be able to win the struggle for the rights of citizens only when their legal and political culture improves, experience of participation in political life appears, when trade unions are transformed, becoming real defenders of the interests of workers, when voters begin to vote not for unprincipled talkers, but for honest, conscientious people , responsible politicians who sincerely care about the people's welfare.

Rights area

It should be noted that the areas of human rights have been developed in accordance with international standards, they include the following points:

1. First of all, the area that the state must provide is taken into account. The population is provided with fundamental rights; no one has the right to carry out actions that in any way may infringe on the freedom and rights of persons with disabilities. It is important!

   

2. The state must ensure full protection of its population and any infringement of human rights must be stopped immediately.
3. Any activity that is aimed at violating the freedom of an individual must be immediately condemned and punished.

Whatever standards apply, they are universal and apply throughout the world, so every person should know their rights and actively use them if they find themselves in a difficult situation.

Constitution and laws

The Constitution of Russia clearly states that every person living on the territory of the Russian Federation or temporarily staying there must count on the protection of his rights and freedoms. The documentation that was adopted by the Council of Europe is also additionally taken into account; it establishes principles regarding the collection and transfer of information that is of a personal nature. For example, any data that was received confidentially should not be disseminated under any circumstances; it is of a secret nature. It is important to remember that all acts adopted by the UN and the European Council are necessarily considered at the level of international standards. If human rights are violated, an article of the Criminal Code is not the only document that is used for protection. Special attention should be paid to the declaration. Back in 1948, the Universal Declaration was adopted, which protects the rights of every person. Let's look at the basic rights that are included in this document:

1. Everyone has the right to life and their integrity.
2. There is a right to recognition of subjectivity.
3. Under no circumstances may torture or ill-treatment be used against a person, and the dignity of the individual must not be humiliated.
4. Everyone has the right to equal protection.
5. In no case can slavery and servitude be applied to a person.

   

6. The declaration also describes that a person has the right to have a private personal and family life, as well as the inviolability of home and correspondence.

Rights that have been violated for some reason must be fully restored, and the person or group of people who committed this violation must be punished.

Human rights in the Russian Federation: European Convention

Back in 1998, Russia became a member of the Council of Europe for the Protection of Human Rights by signing a corresponding agreement. Respect for the individual, his rights and freedoms are described in the teachings of ancient philosophers and in the Main Testament. Rights and freedoms cannot be bought, sold, inherited, or given as a gift. This is an integral part of the life of every free person. And no one has the right to violate this.

These are the basic concepts on which the European Human Rights Council operates. Three basic concepts, like three pillars, give the organization’s activities a special status:

• all rights and freedoms are guaranteed to a person;
• since 1950, a special mechanism has been in place providing protection against discrimination at the international level;
• judicial authorities are obliged to act on the side of the person who has been humiliated or insulted, if there is inalienable evidence of this.

This once again emphasizes that you can protect yourself in such a situation in your homeland, without resorting to the help of international legal organizations. It is worth emphasizing what else our Constitution guarantees:

• complete freedom, inviolability;
• fair trials in criminal and civil courts;
• nominating oneself for high positions;
• freedom of thought, religion;
• own opinion, even expressed in the media;
• freedom of action regarding property;
• freedom of assembly and association.

Strictly prohibited:

• torture, humiliating treatment, insults;
• the death penalty;
• forced labor or slavery;
• expulsion or refusal of entry into the country without obvious reasons;
• collective deportation of foreigners who do not break the law.

Any ordinary person, having analyzed the list, can recall a case from his personal life when one or several of these points were violated. And, most likely, the culprit did not suffer any punishment. This is a feature of our compatriots who do not think quite correctly. This whole nightmare is over, and thank God. Life goes on. But you cannot be so indifferent to your own life.

Violation of social rights. The essence

Violation and infringement of human rights can also relate to socio-economic discrimination. As a rule, such an offense is directly related to a property issue and to resolve the problem, it is often necessary to resort to court. Social rights include:

1. Every person living in the territory of the Russian Federation has the right to acquire his own property.
2. A person can freely engage in the work activity that suits him.
3. Complete freedom of economic activity is ensured.

The Constitution strictly prohibits forced labor. Everyone can choose the most suitable profession and occupation for themselves.

Civil law. Provisions

The article “infringement of human rights” mainly protects the civil position. What does it mean? The fact that it is this category of rights that protects the person as an individual:

1. First of all, everyone has the right to life.

   

2. No one can infringe on the honor and dignity of an individual.
3. Every citizen and person simply staying on the territory of the Russian Federation can move freely throughout the country.
4. Any person has the right to independently choose a place to live.
5. No one has the right to cruelly treat another person, and if this happens, the guilty party must be punished.
6. Everyone has the right to think freely, choose their religion and act according to their conscience.
7. The citizen is provided with protection of his life and his family.

In fact, there are a large number of such rights, but only the main ones are listed above.

What are the restrictions?

In addition to the fact that the Constitution deals with the infringement of human rights, there are certain restrictions, which make it possible to determine the level of freedom of a citizen in the state in which he resides. With the help of such restrictions, certain boundaries are established. Which, for example, allow people with disabilities to freely enjoy their rights and freedom. Rights can be limited only if there are some grounds for this. For example, such measures may be used to protect the Constitution, health or moral character, to ensure the defense of the state. But despite this, some rights still cannot be limited, such as:

1. The right to live.
2. Inviolability of personal life position.
3. An attack on dignity.
4. Guarantees that directly relate to privacy information.
5. Freedom of the right to have your own property and engage in entrepreneurial activity.

As a rule, restrictions are needed to ensure the activities of law enforcement agencies.

Punishment for discrimination

If a violation of human rights occurs, an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment for the crime committed. Let's consider all the options that are used as punishment:

1. First of all, it is worth remembering that you will have to pay a fine of 100,000 rubles.
2. If the crime was committed by an official, then there is a risk of losing the right to hold office for a period of 5 years.

   

3. Sometimes correctional labor is used as punishment; it can last 480 hours.
4. If discrimination against a person occurs with particular cruelty, correctional labor may be imposed for a period of 2 years.
5. The perpetrator may be imprisoned for 5 years.

Infringement of human rights can be considered in open court, and taking into account judicial practice, strict measures are taken against the violator.

Article 136. Violation of equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen

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• Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
• Article 136. Violation of equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen

Discrimination, that is, violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen depending on his gender, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, membership in public associations or any social groups, committed by a person using his official position,
is punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, or by deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities. activities for a term of up to five years, or compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to five years, or imprisonment for the same term.

Commentary on Article 136

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 19), the state guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, membership in public associations, as well as other circumstances. Any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on the basis of social, racial, national, linguistic or religious affiliation is prohibited. Men and women have equal rights and freedoms and equal opportunities for their implementation. Established by Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen is the main object

crime under Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Optional objects can be honor, dignity of a person, his labor rights, freedom of religion, etc., i.e. those rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation in relation to which the equality of man and citizen is violated.

Speaking about the object of the attack, you should pay attention to the fact that the description of the act in the disposition of Part 1 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is structured in such a way that it covers not only the violation enshrined in Part 2 of Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, in other words, equality of citizens, but also a violation of other constitutional rights, freedoms, as well as legitimate interests. Therefore, we can say that the title of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen” is significantly narrower in this aspect of the content of the disposition of the norm, which speaks of a violation of not only the right specified in the title of the article, but also other rights and freedoms.

Objective side

Crimes constitute actions expressed in discrimination (violation) of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen depending on race, nationality, gender, language, etc.

A right is an opportunity established or sanctioned by the state to act in a certain (prescribed) way (to perform actions or refrain from performing them, to possess some value or benefit). For example, the right to life, to personal and family secrets, etc. The presence of a right in one of the subjects of legal relations corresponds to the obligations of the other subject of legal relations to facilitate the implementation of the existing right or not to impede its implementation. The existence of a right is supported by the state, which means establishing any negative consequences for an entity that has violated the right of another entity.

Freedom is the ability established by law for a person to act (inaction) at his own discretion, to choose this or that behavior. Like law, freedom is supported by the power of the state to refrain from violating it or applying punishment for violating the freedoms of man and citizen. For example, in accordance with Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom of religion to everyone. Violation of these freedoms may entail criminal liability (Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Disposition Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation includes an additional element of the legal status of a person and citizen, which is not reflected in the Constitution of the Russian Federation - these are legitimate interests (Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation speaks only about the rights and freedoms of man and citizen). Legitimate interests represent an opportunity established by law to realize any interest or acquire a benefit. Legal interest differs from law in that the realization of interest and the acquisition of goods depend not only on the will of the subject himself, but also on the occurrence of any legally significant facts, the will of other subjects of legal relations. For example, practically as a legitimate interest it is formulated in Part 3 of Art. 43 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation the right (in this case, the opportunity) to receive higher education free of charge on a competitive basis at a state or municipal educational institution and enterprise. The realization of this interest is possible subject to competitive selection.

Understanding the content of the concepts discussed is important for the correct qualification of acts, since they help determine the scope of damage.

At the same time, speaking about the scope of damage, one should pay attention to the fact that in the disposition of Part 1 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the violated rights, freedoms and legitimate interests are not limited only by the framework of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The only constitutional right that is specified in the norm in question is the equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (equality). Other rights, freedoms and legitimate interests referred to in the disposition of Part 1 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, can be either constitutional or unconstitutional, but a constructive feature of the crime under consideration is the obligatory presence of a violation of equality.

The types of violations can be diverse and depend on the nature of the violated right, freedom, legitimate interest, but, from our point of view, all of them can be united by the concept of obstruction in the implementation of an existing right, etc.

Discrimination can be expressed in dismissal from work (for example, when cutting jobs), refusal to hire, non-enrollment or expulsion from an educational institution on the basis of nationality or gender, language, religious beliefs, etc., giving preference to others persons (of another nationality, gender), while objectively another citizen had an advantage and should have been hired for work or study. Discrimination may also consist of refusal to provide information, refusal to sell goods, perform work or provide services, etc. for the same reasons, etc.

In case of discrimination, it is the characteristics of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, property or official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, membership of public associations, and not individual qualities, that become the basis for resolving the relevant issue.

Violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and a citizen, depending on other circumstances or on other grounds, does not form the crime under consideration.

The difficulty of qualifying a violation of the equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen is that this violation is always expressed in the violation of not one, but at least two rights. The first is always a violation of equality, the second is a violation of another right, freedom, legitimate interest. This is due to the fact that a violation of equality cannot be committed in itself, regardless of the other right being violated. In other words, a violation of equality must be expressed in something, and it can be expressed in a violation, for example, of the rights mentioned above.

In this regard, the question arises about the legal assessment of the act in the following cases. First. An infringement was made on the equality of citizens by violating an unconstitutional right, for example the right to purchase goods (the purchase and sale agreement for the last available copy of the goods was concluded not with the victim, but with another person who was given preference on the basis of nationality). In this situation, it seems that the act should be qualified only under Part 1 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since liability for violation of the second right is not established by criminal law. Second case. An attack on the equality of citizens was carried out by unjustifiably refusing to hire a woman on the basis of her gender. Thus, the constitutional right to freedom of labor is violated (Article 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). Criminal liability for unjustified refusal to hire is established by Art. 145 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, in the second case, the act consists of a violation of equality (Article 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and an unreasonable refusal to hire (Article 145 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Violation of each right is provided for in a separate article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the question arises about the presence of a set of crimes or its absence, since Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be considered as general in relation to Art. 145 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. From our point of view, in such cases we can talk about the presence of a set of crimes, since one action violates various constitutional rights and freedoms, there are various direct objects, each of which is protected by an independent article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The elements of violation of equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen are formal. The crime is considered completed from the moment the action is carried out, limiting equality on the grounds specified in the law, regardless of the consequences. At the same time, it should be noted that in practice, often in actions regarding violation of equality of rights and freedoms, no corpus delicti is found due to the insignificance of the act (Part 2 of Article 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Subjective side

crimes are characterized by guilt in the form of direct intent. The offender is aware that he is carrying out actions that violate the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person depending on his gender, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, membership in public associations or what -social groups, and wants to fulfill them.

Motive

crime is associated with the signs specified in Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Equality is violated due to hostility, anger, malice, etc., i.e. an unfriendly attitude towards a person because of his nationality, race, gender and other characteristics.

Subject

crime - a sane person who has reached the age of sixteen. The subject is general.

Part 2 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes liability for the same act committed by a person using his official position. In a qualified composition, the subject of the crime is a special one. These can be both officials of state authorities or local self-government or enterprises and organizations under their jurisdiction, as well as employees of non-state (commercial) institutions and enterprises with administrative or other managerial functions that allow them to infringe on the equality of citizens (for example, illegal appointments to higher positions of their fellow countrymen, establishing increased salary bonuses for employees of a certain nationality, etc.).

It should be noted that when using the concept of “official position”, the legislator does not limit it only to persons with official powers or managerial functions. The concept of use of official position is broader, but in this case, a violation of equality of rights and freedoms is most likely on the part of either officials or persons with managerial functions. But in any case, the subject of a qualified crime is special, and for this composition there must be a connection between the official position and the committed act.

Abuses by officials of state authorities or local self-government that violate the equality of citizens are classified according to the totality of the crimes provided for in Part 2 of Art. 136 and art. 285 or Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Similar acts by employees of commercial structures are covered by Part 2 of Art. 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Violation of the equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen (Article 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) must be distinguished from incitement of national, racial or religious hatred (Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This crime is characterized by a violation of the equality of citizens (Article 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), but is aimed not at inciting national, racial and religious hatred, but at humiliating national dignity.