NGO activists urge not to prosecute head of "Don Women"

Investigators are trying to initiate the Russia's first criminal case on wilful evasion of submitting documents for putting into the registry of foreign agents against Valentina Cherevatenko, the head of the Union "Don Women", said activists from the non-governmental sector. According to their stories, this is an attempt to strengthen repressions of Russian non-profit organizations (NPOs or NGOs).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 14, 2014, the Novocherkassk City Court obliged the Union "Don Women" to get registered as a foreign agent. On February 29 this year, the Union was excluded from the relevant registry.

On May 6 and 10, the head of the Union was interrogated by investigators in Rostov-on-Don, allegedly within the pre-investigation checks on the fact of "malicious evasion" from the duties defined by the law on foreign agents, says the statement of Russian and international NGOs. This is reported on the website of the Fund "Public Verdict".

The check is conducted in connection with the activities of the two organizations, headed by Cherevatenko – the Union "Don Women" and the eponymous Foundation for Civil Society Development.

According to Natalia Taubina, the head of the Fund "Public Verdict", power agents' actions are an attempt to create a precedent for the prosecution under the law on foreign agents and make the earlier unused Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code an active one.

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