The Russian Supreme Court has ordered the Memorial Human Rights Center to close. This is a sister organization of the prominent human rights organization Memorial International, which was already dissolved by the court on Tuesday.
The center stands up for the rights of political prisoners, migrants and other groups who are disadvantaged in Russia, among others. Prosecutors had asked the court to close Memorial Human Rights Center for justifying terrorism and extremism. Like Memorial International, the center was also accused of breaking the law.
The human rights center had stood up for opposition leader Alexei Navalny (whose movement was declared ‘extremist’ last summer) and Krimtarians who support the Islamist movement Hizb-ut-Tahrir banned in Russia as ‘terrorist’.
Both organizations were classified as foreign agents due to funding from abroad (Soviet terminology for traitor). According to the law, that status must be made known in all communication, for example in social media posts, but according to the prosecutors this did not happen. This already led to the dissolution of Memorial International on Tuesday. Both organizations called the charges politically motivated.
Both inside and outside Russia, the Supreme Court’s decision was met with criticism on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the people of Russia “deserve better”. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter that “a critical look back at the past is essential for the healthy development and progress of societies.”
Peace Nobel Prize
The Moscow prosecutor’s office indicted Memorial International in early November for violating human rights itself. Memorial was founded in 1988 by, among others, peace Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov, who himself lived for years under house arrest for his criticism of the Soviet authorities. She devoted herself to investigating and documenting the crimes committed in the Soviet Union.
In the 1990s, the human rights center also began investigating atrocities from the war in Chechnya, where rebels fought the Russian army for secession. More recently, Memorial spoke about the war in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are militarily fighting for independence from Ukraine, with active help from Russia.
Putin
Human rights organizations in Russia are coming under increasing pressure. President Vladimir Putin’s government is cracking down on opposition members, independent news media and other critics.
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Sister #organization #oldest #human #rights #club #Russia #stop