Russia’s best-known human rights group, Memorial, said Thursday that it was notified by the Supreme Court that prosecutors sought to overturn it over violations of the “foreign agents” law, a move it said was politically motivated.
The move threatens to silence the organization that was born out of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s “glasnost” reforms in the 1980s and became a leading voice in civil society.
Centered in its early days on the crimes of the Stalinist era, the memorial has recently spoken out against the repression of opposition figures, activists, journalists and others under President Vladimir Putin.
As of 2015, it was placed on the list of “foreign agents”, a label that carries connotations of espionage and is used by Russian officials to identify non-governmental organizations, media outlets and others using foreign funding to engage in political activities. has been applied for. , Its offices across the country have been attacked on several occasions.
Memorial said the “foreign agent” law was created to crack down on independent organizations and had no legal basis to abolish it.
“This is a political decision to destroy the Memorial Group, an organization dedicated to the history of political repression and the protection of human rights,” it said in a statement. Having said that the matter will be heard on November 25.
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