Unidentified people collect information about members of HRC Memorial

On September 3, 2009 unidentified people introducing themselves as officers of tax inspectorate came to the flats where Oleg Orlov, head of Council of HRC Memorial, and Alexander Cherkasov, member of the Council, are registered in Moscow.

The "officers" tried to find out the circumstances of Orlov's and Cherkasov's lives.

In the evening of September, 3, a neighbor told Orlov's mother that at 4 p.m. that day a man rang at her door. He had "Asian" appearance, introduced himself as an officer of tax inspectorate. The neighbor opened the door and talked to the man. He showed her some documents and wanted to know who lived in the flats on the floor in reality, if someone rented a flat there. The man made an accent on the flat in which Orlov was registered and asked about Orlov in particularly. The neighbor didn't tell anything specific. As it became clear lately the same "officer" addressed another Orlovs' neighbor with the same questions.   

The next day Orlov called to the district tax inspectorate. There he was told that the officers were never sent to conduct such "field surveys" and that Orlov had to appeal to militia on the matter.  

In the morning of September, 3 a woman rang at the door where Cherkasov is registered. Cherkasov's mother opened. The women introduced herself as an officer of a tax inspectorate. She held some documents and asked if any of the neighbors from the same apartment block had illegal enterprise. The woman knew names and surnames of many Cherkasov's neighbors. The "officer" looked decent well so Cherkasov's mother let her come in without checking any documents. Cherkasov's mother wanted to show that there was no illegal enterprise in the flat. When asked about Cherkasov's occupation his mother answered that he was a researcher.

The next day Cherkasov appealed to a tax inspectorate. In the department of office inspection he was said that no officers of the inspectorate had been sent to his flat.

In the light of the fact that human rights organizations and their members have been threatened recently , attacks on them have been organized in Moscow and in other regions of Russia HRC Memorial expresses its concern that unidentified people telling false facts collected information about members of Memorial.

It's worth mentioning that Oleg Orlov and Alexander Cherkasov are witnesses in the case of murder of Natalia Estemirova.

September 7, 2009