D. International Treaties

By art. 15 of the Russian Constitution, if an international treaty of the Russian Federation stipulates other rules than those stipulated by domestic law, the rules of the international treaty shall apply. This constitutional principle applies to international treaties against terrorism, including regional treaties among CIS countries and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

As a result, international policing agreements have priority over Russian domestic laws, even though Russian laws are more legally sound.

In 2004, Russia ratified the CIS Cooperation Agreement on Combating Terrorism.

Central to this agreement is the procedure of filling mutual requests by authorized security bodies of respective states. According to the agreement, “the laws of the State Party filling a request shall apply; however, the laws of the requesting State Party may also apply if it does not contravene basic legal principles or international obligations of the State Party filling the request.” In other words, the Russian law enforcement agencies may be required to act in accordance with Tajik or Belorussian laws.

If follows from the Agreement that “each State Party shall ensure confidentiality of information and documents received from the other State Party if they are of a confidential nature, or if the State Party which provides these documents finds their disclosure undesirable. The degree of confidentiality of such information and documents shall be determined by the State Party providing them.” But "confidential" documents may affect human rights and civil liberties, and by some Russian laws (such as the Law on Detective Operations) must be disclosed to concerned individuals on their request.

It is obvious from Art. 11 of the Agreement that the anti-terrorist rhetoric is used to camouflage efforts to chill the political climate and to give unlimited power to police. While the agreement ostensibly focuses on combating terrorism, data which can be revealed to security agencies also include personal details of “certain individuals who may pose a threat to state security." So the anti-terrorist treaty targets dissidents, as well as terrorists.

Two other instruments were ratified at the same time – the SCO agreement establishing a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) and the Protocol establishing the procedure for joint anti-terrorist operations in the territories of CIS states.

A combination of these two treaties creates an ideal environment for uncontrollable trans-border security operations; security agents are now allowed to apprehend and even kill political opponents labeled as “terrorists” outside their own countries.

RATS is expected to gather and analyze information, to create a database of “terrorists and separatists,” to elaborate strategic plans, to conduct detective and other activities against terrorism, separatism and extremism, to engage in international search of persons suspected of acts treated as offenses under the Shanghai Convention, and eliminate the channels of financing terrorism and separatism.

Security officers and agents of "democratic” countries such as Uzbekistan enjoy diplomatic immunity under CIS and SCO intergovernmental agreements, also protecting their property and premises. This diplomatic immunity of police and security agents effectively frees them of any external control. Anyone aware of most SCO states parties' practices will agree that these "diplomats" will not stop at kidnapping, unsanctioned arrests, raids and searches, and even extra-judicial executions in other countries.