Romani Family Members Suffer Extreme Harm Following Threats by Extortionists in Russia
29 July 2004
On April 10, 2004, Mr Vladimir Sharkozi of the "International Cultural Autonomy "Congress"" testified to the ERRC that Mr Nikolay Orlov, a 50-year-old Romani man, had been killed and his family members have suffered extreme harm after having been repeatedly threatened by Russian racketeering groups engaging in extortion under the pretext of offering security services to businesses in Aleksandrov, Moscow County. Since September 2002, Mr Orlov and his family, who are involved in parking services and wholesale timber trading, have repeated been threatened by Russian racketeers because they have refused to pay. The racketeers have reportedly made such statements as "all Russian people pay to us and only you, Gypsy people, don't pay while, in fact, you should pay double since you are Gypsies." During the period of January 25-January 29, 2003, unknown persons set several fires in the timber store owned by Mr Orlov's firm. A criminal investigation has reportedly been opened but police had not identified the perpetrators as of June 8, 2004.
According to family members, on February 11, 2003, a group of about ten people entered one of the parking lots owned by Mr Orlov and beat his sons, Mr Leonid Orlov and Mr Yanosh Orlov, and a friend of theirs with baseball bats and iron sticks.
Yanosh Orlov sustained a broken nose and was left seriously wounded, covered in blood. Leonid Orlov was also severely beaten, as was their friend. Believing his brother and his friend were dead, lying motionless and covered in blood, Leonid Orlov retrieved his legally owned gun and shot at the attackers. His bullet hit and killed Mr Oleg Bolshakov, one of the racketeers. Leonid Orlov was charged with murder committed in a state of affect, in accordance with Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Mr Vasiliy Bolshakov, leader of the racketeer group and father of the victim, was reportedly seen and heard by many people during his son's funeral pledging to kill the entire Orlov family in revenge.
On May 1, 2003, unknown persons shot Leonid Orlov in the yard of his home. Police reportedly opened a criminal investigation against unknown perpetrators for attempted murder. During a telephone interview on April 12, 2004, Leonid Orlov informed the ERRC that on several occasions early in 2004, unknown persons urged him to retract his testimony against the racketeers, threatening that his charge would be changed to one carrying a heavier punishment if he did not do so, during several telephone conversations. Leonid Orlov refused to retract his testi-mony and as of the end of January 2004, the charge against him had been changed to premedi-tated murder in accordance with Article 105 of the Russian Crimi-nal Code.
Family members also informed the ERRC that on March 17, 2004, Mr Nikolay Orlov was shot dead in broad daylight in the central city square of Aleksandrov, in front of the police station as he was walking out of the court building. The attacker approached Mr Orlov, produced seven shots from close range using a handgun with a silencer, and ran away. A police investigation against an unknown perpetrator was reportedly open as of June 22, 2004.
Leonid Orlov and other members of his family have repeatedly asked the relevant authorities to ensure protection of the family. However the family has received no help to date. As of June 8, 2004, Leonid Orlov's children and those of his brother had stopped attending school out of fear of abduction. On June 18, 2004, the ERRC, in partnership with local lawyer EugeniyYuriev, took over legal representation for Leonid Orlov and the Orlov family.
(ERRC)
