Russia's Supreme Court today (Tuesday) approved the closure of the country's influential and largest human rights organization, Memorial, after ruling that it had violated the Foreign Agents Act and served as an agent of foreign countries.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported that the organization's lawyers had announced that they would appeal the decision in the European Court of Human Rights as well as in courts in Russia, adding that the ruling was motivated by political considerations.
The organization's lawyer, Maria Glushkova, told Reuters: "The real reason for the court's decision is the fact that the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Justice do not like the fact that Memorial is working to rehabilitate the names of the victims of Soviet terrorism."
Protesters in front of Russian Supreme Court, Photo: Reuters
The organization was established in Russia in 1987, during the Soviet era, and has since worked to expose the crimes committed by the communist regime.
The organization's position on the conduct of the Soviet Union contradicts the position of the Putin regime, which seeks to restore the historical image of the Soviet Union as a unifying factor for Russia and the surrounding nations.
The organization's persecution began in 2012 with the passage of the Foreign Agents Act, which allows for the closure of organizations that have received assistance from foreign countries or have come into contact with representatives of foreign authorities.
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