16 April 2013 

Source: HRO.org (info)

• Moscow Regions and Moscow  Public Prosecutor's Office  On human rights defenders  Freedom of Association  Harassment of activists

Report by the Permanent Commission for the Development of NGOs for a special meeting of the Presidential Council: "Depriving non-governmental organisations of the opportunity to exercise public oversight of state bodies, influence the policies of the authorities, and take part in managing state affairs would mean abolishing the constitutional freedom of activity of public associations and other democratic values."
Currently, regulatory agencies, headed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, are carrying out inspections of the activities of non-profit organisations throughout the whole of Russia. Also taking part in the inspections are the Interior Ministry, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecoms, Information Technology and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor), the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), the Emergencies Ministry, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Federal Migration Service, the Justice Ministry and the Federal Service for Fiscal and Budgetary Supervision (Rosfinnadzor), making a total of 10 separate departments. In most regions up to 100 NGOs have been affected by the inspections, including social, environmental, educational, research, religious, children's and human rights organisations. The total number of organisations that have been inspected comes to several thousand. [Read more]