The Kremlin sees red.
A Moscow court on Friday ordered the seizure of the offices in the Russian capital of Memorial.
The NGO was banned from Russia, a few hours after winning the Nobel Peace Prize alongside a Belarusian activist and a Ukrainian NGO.
“Today I spoke with Alexander Cherkasov (one of the pillars of the Memorial movement), whom I had the chance to meet in Saint Petersburg, wrote, in Russian, Emmanuel Macron on Twitter.
I congratulated him on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial.
I expressed my admiration, support and friendly feelings towards him and his comrades.
»
Сегодня я разговаривал с александром черкасовым, с которым мне Посчастливилось Встретиться В санкт-Пер
Я поздравил его с присуждением Нобелевской премии мира НПО Мемориал.
Я выразил свое восхищение, поддержку и дружеские чувства в отношении его самирЉого и его.
pic.twitter.com/3cyUzQ88wq
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 7, 2022
The main premises of Memorial in Russia "have been transformed into public property", the Tverskoy court told the Interfax news agency after yet another trial against the NGO.
Memorial's downtown Moscow offices housed the organization's administrative departments, as well as regularly hosting exhibitions open to the public.
A representative of the Tverskoy court claimed that Memorial "marked its involvement in the rehabilitation of Nazi criminals, discredited the authorities and created a false image of the USSR", according to the Ria Novosti news agency.
A reference in the fight for freedoms
Banned in Russia since December 2021, Memorial is a reference in the fight for freedoms and the memory of political repressions in the country and in the former USSR.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him on Friday, jointly with Belarusian activist Ales Beliatski and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, in the midst of Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine.
