MOSCOW, September 17 (RAPSI) — Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova and her staff will monitor the observance of electoral rights of citizens in regions, including hard-to-reach pre-trial detention centers and psychiatric clinics.

The rights advocates plan to visit pre-trial detention centers where inmates, which are not deprived of the right to vote, are detained, as well as places where people are being treated, or are in constant isolation due to their mental state, Moskalkova said during a roundtable Ensuring the Electoral Rights of Citizens: Sharing the Best Practices of Ombudsmen.

According to the Ombudsman, her office has planned and is already carrying out trips to Russia’s regions in order to make sure that they are ready for the elections at the proper level.

Moskalkova herself has already visited the Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod regions, her colleagues are at present in some other regions, the Rights Commissioner observed.

As the Ombudsman emphasized, her staff pays special attention to the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, so that no group was left uncovered or found itself in such situations that it could not exercise its electoral rights.

Moskalkova stressed that Ombudsmen in each Russia’s region can follow online what is happening at polling stations.

This is not only a preventive measure, but also a measure that allows monitors to respond to complaints related to violations, Moscalcova added.

The Ombudsman also said that she constantly exchanges information with the Central Election Commission , the Civic Chamber, public associations that monitor the observance of the electoral rights of citizens.

Moskalkova added that this year her office held face-to-face seminars and trainings so the staff could learn how to identify and formalize violations of the electoral rights and help people when and where they encounter such violations.