Liquidation of MHG continues cleansing in human rights movement

The Russian Ministry of Justice achieved the liquidation of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) on the basis of absurd arguments and nit-picking, and the defence will file an appeal against the court’s decision, advocates Henry Reznik and Mikhail Biryukov state. Pressure on human rights organizations has increased in Russia, and there are attempts to stigmatize them in the eyes of the society, human rights defenders emphasize.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 20, 2022, it became known that the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) filed a lawsuit with the Moscow City Court to liquidate the MHG. The reason was the participation of a regional organization in events in other regions. The court pronounced a decision to liquidate the organization.

Ivan Tatarnikov, the spokesperson for the MoJ’s Chief Directorate in Moscow, stated that during the inspection, “gross violations” were found in the activities of the MHG. Among those, Ivan Tatarnikov mentioned eleven events outside of Moscow, including the participation of MHG members as listeners and defenders at trials in other regions, in particular, the participation of Karina Moskalenko as an advocate for Akhmed Barakhoev in the “Ingush case.”

The liquidation of the MHG is a continuation of the trend of cleansing the human rights movement, states Yan Rachinsky, the chair of the board of the “International Memorial”* (International Historical Educational Charitable and Human Rights Society “Memorial”), liquidated by the court’s decision. The closure of the MHG is connected with the criticism of the Russian authorities, Yan Rachinsky points out.

The Ministry of Justice has closed many representative offices of NCOs in Russia, in particular, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the human rights organizations “Amnesty International” (AI), and Human Rights Watch (HRW), notes Alexandra Polivanova, an expert from the public organization “Russian Memorial”.

The MHG is one of the most respected public organizations in Russia, emphasizes Evgeny Chernousov, a Moscow advocate.

*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.