The Secretary-General of the Pan-European Human Rights Institution of the Council of Europe said on Friday (November 12) that the closure of the respected Russian human rights organization memorial would cause a “destructive blow” to the country’s civil society.
Maria Pechinovich Bridge said that the closure of the memorial “will cause a further devastating blow to civil society, which is an important pillar of any democracy”, and she called on Russian prosecutors to reconsider the closure announced on Thursday. The initiative of the memorial.
Memorial, Russia’s oldest human rights organization, said that the Supreme Court of Russia notified it that the prosecutor had requested the organization to be dissolved because the organization systematically violated the “foreign agent” legislation.
A term with a Soviet-era connotation, the status of “foreign agent” forces individuals or organizations to disclose the source of funds, label all their publications (including social media posts) or face fines.
The memorial is often referred to as a potential Nobel Peace Prize winner, but never won. It is dedicated to protecting Russia’s historical memory and opposing human rights violations, especially in the North Caucasus. In 2009, representatives of Oleg Orlov, Sergey Kovalev and Lyudmila Alekseyeva won the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament.
Buric called the actions of the Russian prosecutors “very regrettable.”
She slammed the “foreign agent” status rule, saying that “the law has stigmatized non-governmental organizations, the media and individuals, and has had a repressive effect on Russian civil society in recent years.”
The European Commission also stated that the news of the closure of the memorial was “a source of alarm.”
Commission spokesman Peter Stano said that EU executives strongly condemned this move by Russian prosecutors.
“The memorial is an internationally renowned non-governmental organization that provides very important work for Russian society. This is a regrettable decision and another example of how the national authorities can reduce the space for civil society and criticize voices,” he said.
“In addition to targeting journalists and political activists, they are also trying to target NGOs through the’Foreign Agents’ law. We call on Russia to exclude them because it violates Russia’s international obligations. We call on the Russian authorities to reverse this step.” , Stano said.
The memorial said Thursday that the case had “no legal basis”, saying it was accused of failing to publicly identify itself as a designated foreign agent.
“This is a political decision aimed at destroying the Memorial Association, an organization dedicated to political oppression of history and the protection of human rights.”
According to the court website, the hearing on the prosecutor’s case is scheduled for November 25.
“We are shocked. On the other hand, it is not surprising…In recent years, such crazy things have happened in Russia, which did not really arouse any surprises,” Oleg Orlov, a member of the Memorial Committee, told Reuters society.
“This is obviously a political decision to come down from somewhere above to liquidate us. This is a blow to all civil society, and it is also a very serious wake-up call.”
The memorial focused early on the crimes of the Stalin era, and recently publicly opposed the suppression of opposition figures, activists, journalists and others under Putin’s leadership.
In the last few years of Putin’s Russia, the praise of Stalin has become an official state policy.
Two days ago, the Memorial Museum stated in a post on its website that the number of Russian political prisoners it recorded had increased from 362 a year ago to 420, but said the actual number is undoubtedly much higher.
As early as 2015, the memorial hall was included in the official list of “foreign agents”, a label with the meaning of spy. Its offices across the country have been attacked many times.
The Kremlin stated that the foreign agent law is reasonable because Russians have the right to know when non-governmental organizations, media organizations, and other institutions accept foreign funds to participate in what they believe to be political activities.
The RIA news agency quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying that the inspection found illegal activities in the international and regional branches of the memorial, and has applied to the Supreme Court and the Moscow City Court to close it. It did not specify what the violation was.
“The liquidation of us does not mean that everything will stop,” Orlov said. “We will work in our apartment until they put us in jail. But of course, our work will really become more difficult.”
