Source: HRO.org (info) 

• Human rights activists  Right of association

During an appearance on the “De Facto” programme broadcast by OTR (Public Television of Russia), Mikhail Fedotov, chair of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, criticised the draft law published by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the aim of which – according to Ministry representatives – is to “clarify the term ‘political activity’ as used in the Law on Foreign Agents”.

These new developments were revealed in a report published on the website of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, which quotes its chair, Mikhail Fedotov, as emphasising the fact that, ‘The amendments drafted by the Ministry of Justice expand the meaning of the term rather than narrowing it down.”

"The domestic politics of a country can be characterised as a struggle between political parties and a fight to gain power and hold on to power – that it what politics is all about. Everything else, or in other words the everyday management of the affairs of a state and its people at every level, has nothing to do with politics.”

Fedotov underlined the fact that no public consultation had been held on the draft law published by the Ministry of Justice; instead, the draft had undergone an anti-corruption check and was then almost immediately tabled before the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The chair of the Presidential Council went on to express the hope that, “the specialist committee and the Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organisations will subject this draft law to thorough scrutiny, take heed of our recommendations and ensure that members of our Council are involved in the activities of the working group.”