Anatoly Fursov
Anatoly Fursov (Anatoly Vladimirovich Fursov) is an international lawyer, independent judicial expert and country expert on the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus. He is the Managing Partner of the Moscow Bar Association "Dombrovitskiy and Partners" (established in 2009). His practice focuses on defence against the misuse of Interpol mechanisms, extradition proceedings, and cases concerning international protection and political asylum.
Education and qualifications
- Russian University of Cooperation (2007)
- Certified polygraph specialist (2014)
- MBA (2018)
- PhD (2019)
- Accredited independent judicial expert (since 2020)
More than 17 years of continuous legal practice in the fields of immigration and international law.
Professional activity
Fursov is the Managing Partner of the Moscow Bar Association "Dombrovitskiy and Partners", which has operated since March 2009. The main areas of practice are immigration, international, civil and criminal law, with an emphasis on defending individuals subjected to politically motivated international persecution.
Country expertise
Fursov is listed in the ILPA and Electronic Immigration Network (EIN) Directory of Experts on Countries of Origin as an expert on Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. He has prepared more than 100 country expert reports used in immigration and court proceedings in the European Union, the United States, Serbia, Montenegro and Senegal, primarily in cases concerning political asylum and international protection, as well as in extradition-defence proceedings.
His reports on the Russian Federation address politically motivated criminal prosecution and the fabrication of criminal cases, the abuse of Interpol channels and of the extradition system, the legal consequences of "foreign agent" status, risks associated with organisations designated in Russia as "undesirable" or "extremist", persecution for anti-war positions, conditions of detention, the independence of the judiciary, persecution on religious grounds, and the situation in the Chechen Republic and other regions of the North Caucasus. His expertise on Ukraine and Belarus covers the human-rights situation, the persecution of the opposition, activists and journalists, mobilisation-related issues, and the situation of participants in the 2020 Belarusian protests.
"Foreign agent" designation and Interpol case
In January 2023, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added Fursov to the register of "foreign agents". He personally went through the procedure of having his own file removed from the Interpol Information System: the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) found the Russian request to be politically motivated and contrary to the Organisation's Constitution, following which the file was deleted.
Journalism and media activity
Fursov heads the research (investigative) department of the international pool of independent journalists News-Opposition. The pool brings together journalists working with closed information sources and conducts investigative work across a broad range of topics. The material produced is intended for further publication and is regularly supplied to third-party media outlets.
The results of this work, as well as cases in which Fursov acted as counsel or expert, are regularly published by leading world media. These include the Russian-language services of Radio Liberty and Voice of America; the outlets Meduza, Novaya Gazeta Europe and Freedom; the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN; the Spanish outlets El Mundo, El Español, El Confidencial and Público; and The New York Times.