17:15, 12 January 2023

Lawyers request courts to reconsider decisions on liquidation of “Memorials”*

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*. Photo https://theins.ru/news/255798 *the organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice in the register of NCOs, performing the functions of a foreign agent, and was liquidated by a court’s decision

Lawyers from the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”* and the “Memorial International”* (International Historical Educational Charitable and Human Rights Society “Memorial”) filed complaints to courts requesting them to examine for legality the liquidation of the above organizations and their inclusion in the register of foreign agents. This was reported by the Telegram channel of the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial”.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 9, 2022, the Cassation Court in Moscow upheld the decision on the liquidation of the HRC “Memorial”*, pronounced by the court on December 29, 2021 at a lawsuit of the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office and supported by the Court of Appeal on April 5. On February 28, 2022, the Board of Appeal of the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia upheld the decision to liquidate the “International Memorial”*. The leaders of the “International Memorial”* requested the Supreme Court to postpone the execution of the decision until the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the complaint against the law on foreign agents. On March 22, the Supreme Court dismissed the request either. The refusal of the Supreme Court of Russia to comply with the requirement of the ECtHR indicates the Russia’s neglect of international obligations, the human rights defenders point out.

The HRC “Memorial”* and the “Memorial International”* filed the complaint to the European Court back in 2013, the human rights defenders recall. “Nearly a decade later, the European Court ruled that the law on foreign agent stigmatizes independent NCOs, restricts their ability to receive foreign funding, and allows for draconian penalties ‘for every sneeze’ that the authorities consider a violation,” the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial” states.

On June 14, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights considered the complaints filed by 73 Russian NCOs against the Russian law on foreign agents and recognized it as inconsistent with the right to freedom of association, the complainants were awarded compensation. Russia will not comply with this decision of the ECtHR, says Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

*The organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs, performing the functions of a foreign agent, and was liquidated by a court’s decision.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 11, 2022 at 02:42 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot