A total of 15 organizations had their approval withdrawn.
Russia has banned the work of the German Heinrich Böll Foundation, human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and other institutions. A total of 15 foreign non-governmental organizations had their registration withdrawn for alleged “violations of the applicable legislation of the Russian Federation”, as the Ministry of Justice in Moscow announced on Friday. The Carnegie Center think tank is also affected.
The Böll Foundation said it had worked for “a vision of a free and democratic Russia” for more than 30 years. “Unfortunately, the Russian leadership of President (Vladimir) Putin has led the country in the opposite direction for many years.”
Amnesty International released a statement about the closing of the Moscow office. “You are doing something right when the Kremlin is trying to silence you,” wrote Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
Russian human rights activists, activists and journalists also complain about increased repression in the world’s largest country by area. Until now, for example, numerous civil rights organizations have been classified as “foreign agents”. In the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine, several independent media outlets have also been blocked in recent weeks or abandoned under pressure from the authorities.
(APA/dpa)