Barzakh

In the Chechen language, Barzakh means the land between the living and the dead, reflecting the limbo experienced by the relatives of the disappeared of not knowing about the fate of their loved ones.

On 30 August, to mark the UN’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) and we present a special event of the award-winning documentary Barzakh by Director Mantas Kvedaravicius.

This event aims to raise awareness of Russia’s use of the crime of enforced disappearance as a tool of war, in Chechnya and more recently in Ukraine, and the ongoing impact on the families of the disappeared, who live a half-life, doubtful about the survival of their disappeared loved-ones, but never fully reconciled to their deaths.

The screening will be followed by a panel of experts to discuss the human cost of Russia’s actions in Chechnya and Ukraine, focusing on the ongoing suffering of the families of the disappeared. On the panel will be Akhmed Gisaev, Human Rights Analysis Centre; Tetiana Pechonchyk, ZMINA (via Zoom) and Dr Sarah Whittaker, Trauma Treatment International hosted by Mariat Imaeva, EHRAC. After the event you are invited to join our reception and continue the discussion.

Lithuanian filmmaker and anthropologist Mantas Kvedaravicius was killed in April 2022 while filming in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine. This screening also pays tribute to Kvedaravicius’ talent and compassionate filmmaking.

Panellists
Akhmed Gisaev is a human rights lawyer and Director of the Human Rights Analysis Centre, based in Oslo. He previously worked at Memorial Human Rights Centre in Chechnya and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in Oslo. Akhmed is featured in Barzakh and accompanied the film’s Director, Mantas Kvedaravicius, during production.

Tetiana Pechonchyk is the head of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA. ZMINA focuses on protecting freedom of speech, assembly, and association; preventing torture; combating discrimination, and protecting human rights defenders and civil activists in Ukraine. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ZMINA came together with 30 other NGOs to launch the Ukraine 5AM Coalition.

Dr Sarah Whittaker is Head of Clinical Services for Trauma Treatment International. A clinical psychologist, Sarah is an expert in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma. She has also acted as an expert witness in a large-scale war crimes investigation.

Jessica Gavron is Co-Director, Head of Legal, at EHRAC. A UK barrister, Jess has over 20 years’ experience of litigating cases against Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Armenia, on behalf of victims of gross human rights violations.

Mariat Imaeva is a part-time international advocacy consultant at EHRAC, focusing on a project relating to enforced disappearances in the North Caucasus.  She has previously worked at REDRESS, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders.

About Barzakh
Upon its release, Barzakh (2011) won two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, including the Amnesty International Film Prize. It received further awards at film festivals in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania and Serbia.

About EHRAC
EHRAC is based in London and was founded in 2003 to litigate cases arising from the armed conflict in the North Caucasus at the European Court of Human Rights. Over the 20 years since, EHRAC has expanded to support human rights defenders in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to challenge serious human rights abuses using international legal mechanisms.

EHRAC has partnered with over 100 lawyers from across the region, representing more than 1200 applicants in over 450 cases.

In August 2022, EHRAC launched the Enforced Disappearance Legal Database, the first international legal resource on the legal frameworks and jurisprudence developed in relation to enforced disappearances around the world.

For more information on EHRAC, please visit their website.