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Moscow (CNN) -
Russia's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the closure of Memorial International, a leading human rights organization, in the latest blow to the country's dwindling civil society.
Memorial International studies the historical abuses of the former Soviet Union and offers support to its victims.
The group's lawyer, Tatiana Glushkova, confirmed the sentence to CNN and said the group would appeal the decision.
"The real reason for Memorial's closure is that the prosecution does not like Memorial's work to rehabilitate victims of Soviet terror," Glushkova told CNN.
Russia's General Prosecutor's Office requested the liquidation of Memorial International in November.
The group was accused of repeatedly breaking the law for failing to mark all of its posts with a mandatory "foreign agent" warning.
Moscow had designated the group as a foreign agent in 2016, using a law aimed at organizations that receive international funding.
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Representatives for the group argued there were no legal grounds for its closure, and critics say the Russian government targeted Memorial for political reasons.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Andrei Sakharov was one of the group's original founders and the first honorary president of Memorial.
The Supreme Court's decision was not unexpected.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a speech delivered earlier this month, accused the Memorial of repeatedly supporting groups that are blacklisted "such as terrorist and extremist organizations."
"Their violations were flagrant," he said.
However, Putin added that Memorial was "indisputably" one of the most "reputable" organizations in Russia.
Human Rights Russia