A Moscow court ordered the closure of Memorial Human Rights Center just one day after Russia’s Supreme Court forced its sister organization, Memorial International, to shut down, CNN reported.
The center was charged with multiple violations of Russia’s “foreign agent” law, as well as “justifying terrorism and extremism” in its articles, Ilya Novikov, a lawyer for the group, told CNN.
“It is quite an expected decision after yesterday’s [decision of the Supreme Court to shut down Memorial International],” she said. “We did not have any illusions about the hearing today.”
Novikov emphasized the importance of not letting such decisions discourage others from fighting for human rights. “The legal entity can be liquidated but the work remains and people remain,” she told CNN.
The U.N. human rights office said the courts chose to “dissolve two of Russia’s most respected human rights groups and further weaken the country’s dwindling human rights community,” and it urged Russian authorities “to protect and support people and organizations that work to advance human rights across the Russian Federation,” Reuters reported.
Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director Marie Struthers said the closure was “heartless” and called for the decision to be overturned in a statement on Wednesday.
“These sham charges serve as little more than a pretext for silencing dissent and blocking people’s ability to come together to defend human rights, and they must be immediately dropped,” Struthers said. “The authorities’ dismantling of this outstanding human rights organization fits a broader pattern of repression that seeks to outlaw Russia’s civil society networks.”
Over 1,600 people were arrested earlier this year during anti-Kremlin protests after opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained by Russian authorities. A court banned groups affiliated with Navalny in June, further demonstrating Moscow’s attempts to crack down on political dissent.
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