Russian court orders the closure of Memorial Human Rights Center (MHRC) Supreme Court revokes legal status Its sister organization Memorial International.
The Moscow City Court approved the dissolution of the organization-one of Russia’s most respected human rights institutions-as “justification for extremism and terrorism”, including Jehovah’s Witnesses who are formally regarded as “extremism” Russia.
MHRC has indicated that it plans to appeal the decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
On Wednesday evening, Memorial International issued a letter from the European Court of Justice ordering Russia to suspend the decision to dissolve MHRC and Memorial International, pending a legal review of Russia’s “foreign agent” legislation. Russia’s response to this treaty-enforced decision is unclear.
The head of MHRC, Alexander Cherkasov, stated that he believes that the decision to liquidate it was politically motivated and that the Russian government is taking action to suppress civil rights. The organization also listed the opposition leader Alexei Navalny as a political prisoner.His national organization is Declare extremists Earlier this year.
On Tuesday, the Russian Supreme Court disbanded the International Organization of Commemoration, which was founded by dissidents in the 1980s to study the repression of millions of Soviet citizens during the Stalin era.
The court order ended a year of unprecedented violations of Russian civil liberties as opposition activists Sentenced to imprisonment or exile, And dozens of media and non-governmental organizations have been declared foreign agents or completely liquidated.
Memorial International said in a statement that it will “find a legal way to continue our work,” which includes researching and disseminating information about Soviet atrocities.
The statement said: “The memorial is not just an organization, nor is it just a social movement.” “The memorial is a request by Russian citizens to know the truth about its tragic past and the fate of millions of people. And this demand cannot be met by anyone’ Liquidation’.”
The European Commission’s Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović called the ruling a “regrettable move that will have a major negative impact on Russia’s human rights protection”. She also criticized Russia’s “foreign agent” law as “repressive.”
European governments have also criticized Russia for trying to shut down its oldest human rights organization. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the closure of the memorial was “another cold blow to Russian freedom of speech” and she was “deeply worried”.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office told AFP that the forced closure of the memorial and the actions of the courts “further weakened the country’s shrinking human rights community.”
