Human rights organizations have created a Joint Headquarters to provide legal assistance to citizens taking part in the protests against the falsification of the State Duma elections.

Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are basic values of a democratic state founded on the rule of law. The role of the state is to ensure appropriate conditions for people to be able to realize their rights. Citizens protesting against the mass falsification of election results have the right to assemble peacefully and to demand that electoral rights be observed.

Events of recent days would indicate that the authorities are trying to contain civil society within strict formal boundaries, even when protest continues to have a peaceful character. The use of force in such situations, as a rule, is excessive.

Our task is to help people use their rights and ensure legal support in situations of crude violations.

The United Headquarters is being created by Russian human rights organizations that already have developed programmes of legal assistance and permanent lawyers on their staff. Members of the Headquarters are: Public Verdict Foundation, Memorial Human Rights Centre, Moscow Helsinki Group, Agora Human Rights Association, Committee Against Torture, International Protection Centre, and also lawyers engaged in private practice.

The resources of the human rights organizations are limited. We have decided to unite our potential and to coordinate our efforts to maximalize our ability to provide legal assistance to people.

Legal consultations will be conducted in real time. We hope that in many instances this will be sufficient for people to independently protect their rights.

In cases of cruel treatment during detention or unlawful use of force in police stations, lawyers of the United Headquearters will provide legal support at all stages of the proceedings.

To receive immediate consultations and legal assistance, phone these numbers:

Public Verdict Foundation - +7-495-916-1199 и +7-926-696-3516,

Memorial Human Rights Centre - +7-495-225-3118

Agora Human Rights Association - +7-903-621-96-27 и +7-926-225-26-59.

In the following Russian cities, consultations can be obtained as follows:

Voronezh - Article20.org and the Foundation For Ecological and Social Justice. Call Olga Gnezdilova on +7-904-211-43-92.

Kazan - Kazan Human Rights Centre and the Public Oversight Commission. Call Igor Sholokhov on +79063280276

Yoshkar-Ole - Individual and the Law (Chelovek i Zakon). Call Sergei Poduzov on +7-905-182-3987

Nizhny Novgorod - Committee Against Torture. Call Aleksandr Nemov on +7-951-903-4006

Cheboksary - Shield and Sword and the Public Oversight Commission. Call Aleksei Glukhov on 488336

Chita - Baikal Human Rights Centre and the Public Oversight Commission. Call Vitaly Cherkasov on +7-924-385-19-65

A hotline in Strasbourg will be staffed by a group of lawyers ready to give immediate consultations on instances of cruel treatment and other violations of the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, and, where appropriate, to add new facts of cruel treatment and unlawful detention to the application already submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the violations of human rights that have occurred during the detentions of protestors this past week. The application has been submitted with a request for interim measures. The hotline in Strasbourg is: (8 10) 333-88-242-144, Skype: vybory2011msk