Chechen HRC to challenge MoJ's decision

The decision of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to include the Human Rights Centre (HRC) of the Chechen Republic in the list of "foreign agents" will be challenged in court. This was announced by Mikail Ezhaev, the leader of the non-commercial organization (NCO).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Human Rights Centre of the Chechen Republic was included in the list of "foreign agents" on August 21. The Chechen HRC is engaged in such political activities as "organization of public events and formation of public opinion," and the purpose of political activities is stated as "impact on the decisions made by public institutions aimed at changing public policy pursued by them, "reports the MoJ's statement.

According Mikail Ezhaev, the Human Rights Centre of the Chechen Republic "is engaged in activities compliant with the laws of the Russian Federation." He has also noted that the lawyers of the Chechen HRC "have been for many years providing free legal assistance to residents of Chechnya and represent their interests in the courts."

The Law "On foreign agents" was adopted by the Russian State Duma on July 13, 2012. It obliges non-commercial organizations (NCOs) funded from abroad and engaged in political activity to accept the status of "foreign agents". The initiative drew criticism from members of human rights organizations.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.