Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 761: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recent high profile murders of a lawyer and journalist in Moscow; if the EU has raised these incidents with the Russian Federation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2325/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I condemn unreservedly the murders on 19 January of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasiya Baburova. They were shot in broad daylight on a busy Moscow street. Mr Markelov died at the scene while Ms Baburova died later in hospital. Mr Markelov was a noted lawyer and human rights defender who was particularly engaged in championing the cause of human rights victims in Chechnya. Ms Baburova was a young journalist working with Novaya Gazeta, the respected newspaper for which journalist Anna Politkovskaya worked before her murder in 2006.

Sadly, this is only the latest in a long string of attacks on human rights defenders, journalists and NGO activists in the Russian Federation. Such attacks are intended to demoralise and strike fear into those who strive to create a vibrant and free civil society. The Russian Federation must ensure that such voices in society can be heard without risk of violent attack. The EU has sent its condolences to the families of Mr Markelov and Ms Baburova and has called on the Russian authorities to ensure a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation to bring all the perpetrators to justice. I fully support this call.

Ireland has always taken a strong interest in the position of Human Rights Defenders world –wide and will take the opportunity of the examination of Russia at the UN Universal Periodic Review next week to ask how it intends to enhance protection for human rights defenders and improve investigations where attacks on human rights defenders have occurred.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 765: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the abduction of a person (details supplied), one of Zimbabwe's most visible advocates for human rights on 3 December 2008; if he will raise their unlawful detention at the next GAERC meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2329/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Following the declaration of the December European Council demanding the immediate release of people held incommunicado in Zimbabwe, specifically including Ms. Jestina Mukoko, a prominent human rights activist who visited Ireland in May 2008, I was relieved to learn, on Christmas Eve, that Ms. Mukoko had been located in police custody, after three weeks during which her whereabouts were unknown.

Ms. Mukoko remains in custody, and I am gravely concerned by allegations that she has been tortured. The accusations against Ms. Mukoko — a plan to bomb Harare's Central police station and a "plot" to violently topple Mugabe through the training of militants in neighbouring Botswana — are clearly not credible. I am very disturbed by the refusal of the Zimbabwean authorities to allow Ms. Mukoko and her colleagues access to legal and medical assistance.

Ireland and the EU had made strong representations to the Zimbabwean authorities in relation to Ms. Mukoko's disappearance. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council yesterday, we condemned the ongoing violations of human rights, including the abduction and detention of those exercising a democratic right to express opposition to the regime and of those defending human rights. Irish officials will continue to work to ensure that this issue remains high on the EU agenda.