26 December 2014

Source: HRO.org (info) 

• Moscow city & Moscow region   Kaliningrad region   Krasnodar region   Human rights defenders   Rights of association  Harassment of activists

The Russian public is in shock: the Ministry of Justice has announced the inclusion of the Sakharov Centre on the register of ‘foreign agent’ NGOs. In addition, ministry’s officials have also included the Kaliningrad Human Rights Centre and Krasnodar region’s Association of Graduates in the register.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Justice of December 25 2014, during unscheduled and planned checks, it was established that the Public Committee for the Preservation of the Legacy of the Academician Sakharov, the Kaliningrad Human Rights Defence Centre and Krasnodar region Association for Graduates met the ‘criteria of a non-governmental organisation, fulfilling the role of a foreign agent’, reports Radio Svoboda.

Previously, the Sakharov Centre had reported that in the autumn, a planned check had already been carried out by the Ministry and no violations were found.

The Public Committee for the Preservation of the Legacy of Academician Sakharov was founded in 1990 on the initiative of Elena Bonner, a human rights activist and Sakharov’s wife as the highest governing body of the Sakharov Centre and the Sakharov Archives.

On June 4 2014, President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed in to force a law granting the Ministry of Justice powers to compulsorily include NGOs that allegedly ‘engage in political activity’ and receive financial donations from abroad in the register of ‘foreign agents’.

Translated by Nathalie Corbett