considered a “foreign agent”, an NGO against torture announces its dissolution

This is a new signal of the decline of freedoms in Russia. The director of the Russian NGO Committee against Torture announced on Sunday June 12 the dissolution of his organization, after its designation on Friday as “foreign agent” by the authorities. “We don’t want to continue working being branded as ‘foreign agents’. We consider this term an insult and a slander”justified Sergei Babinets on Telegram.

“Despite the obvious usefulness of [notre] mission, the authorities have tried for many years to pass it off as foreign and harmful. The authorities are sending the signal that torture is becoming [ou est déjà devenue] part of government policy.

Sergueï Babinets, president of the NGO Committee against Torture

on Telegram

The Committee Against Torture, founded in 2000, campaigned to compel authorities to investigate mistreatment by security forces and take action to end it. She notably worked on the situation in Chechnya.

A context of merciless repression

The label “foreign agent”which recalls that of“enemy of the people” under the Soviet era, is used massively against organizations, opponents and journalists accused of carrying out political activities financed abroad. The “foreign agents” are subject to numerous constraints and tedious procedures, under threat of heavy penalties.

The classification of the Committee against Torture as “foreign agent” intervenes in a context of merciless repression against any critical voice in Russia, in particular since the launch of the military intervention in Ukraine at the end of February. Since then, many NGOs have been banned. In April, the Russian authorities closed the offices of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.