Russian court orders end of renowned rights group
Says it ‘creates a false image of the USSR’
MOSCOW – Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that one of the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights organizations should be shut down, a move that stirred up public outrage and is the latest step in a monthslong crackdown on rights activists, independent media and opposition supporters.
The Supreme Court’s ruling to close Memorial, an international human rights group that drew international acclaim for its studies of political repression in the Soviet Union, sparked international outrage.
Memorial is made up of more than 50 smaller groups in Russia and abroad. It was declared a “foreign agent” in 2016 – a label that implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit the targeted organization. Prosecutors said the group repeatedly failed to identify itself as a foreign agent and tried to conceal the designation, the accusations rejected by Memorial.
During the hearing, prosecutors also charged that Memorial “creates a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state,” a claim the group said revealed the authorities’ real motive.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling confirmed once again that the history of political terror organized and directed by the government isn’t an academic issue that is interesting only for experts, but an acute problem of today,” Memorial said in a statement. “Memorial
embodies the Russian citizens’ need to know the truth about the country’s tragic path and the fate of millions. No one would be able to ‘liquidate’ that need.”
The group said it would appeal the verdict and pledged to continue its work.
“Of course, nothing is over with this,” Maria Eismont, one of the lawyers that represented the group in court, said after the ruling. “We will appeal, and Memorial will live on with the people – because it’s the people behind it serving this great cause first and foremost.”
A crowd that gathered in front of the courthouse on Tuesday erupted into chants of “Disgrace!” in response to the ruling. Police detained several people who picketed the courthouse.
The Council of Europe’s Secretary
General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, described the move as “devastating news” and “a dark day for civil society in the Russian Federation.”
Amnesty International called Memorial’s closure “a blatant attack on civil society that seeks to blur the national memory of state repression” and “a grave insult to victims of the Russian Gulag.”
U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan deplored the court’s verdict as “a blatant and tragic attempt to suppress freedom of expression and erase history.”
Russian authorities in recent months have ratcheted up pressure on rights groups, media outlets and individual journalists, naming dozens as foreign agents. Some were outlawed as “undesirable” and several were forced to shut down or disband themselves.