(Moscow) A Russian federal prosecutor has seized the Supreme Court to obtain the dissolution of the Memorial NGO, announced Thursday this human rights organization, the oldest and most important in Russia, which denounces a “political decision”.
This independent non-governmental organization is accused of “having systematically violated” the law on “foreign agents”, she explained in a statement.
Founded in 1989, Memorial was designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities in 2016. This designation obliges organizations, media or persons concerned to publicize this status in all their publications, including on social networks, and to comply with tedious administrative procedures.
This designation, which is reminiscent of that of “enemy of the people” in Soviet times, refers in vague terms to those who receive “foreign funding” and carry out “political activity”.
“We have repeatedly affirmed that this law was conceived from the start as an instrument of summary justice against independent organizations and insisted that it be repealed,” Memorial recalls in its press release.
It is a political decision to destroy the Memorial Group, an organization focused on the history of political repression and the defense of human rights.
Extract from a statement published by Memorial
“We believe that there is no legitimate basis for the dissolution of Memorial”, adds the NGO, engaged for years in a legal battle to cancel this name.
Symbol of perestroika, Memorial, created by dissidents, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner Andreï Sakharov, is part of the “heritage of the Russian people”, reacted the Russian human rights activist Zoïa Svetova.
“If it is dissolved, Russia will become a fully totalitarian state,” she told Echo Moscow radio.
The Supreme Court is due to consider the prosecution’s appeal on November 25, according to information available on its official website.
In 2015, the Supreme Court refused to dissolve Memorial, dismissing an appeal brought by the Russian Ministry of Justice.
The Russian authorities have steadily increased the pressure on NGOs, independent and opposition media in recent months, classifying most of them as “foreign agents”.
With Associated Press