European Court of Human Rights asks Moscow to “suspend” decision to dissolve Memorial – franceinfo

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced a “persecution”, while the head of British diplomacy, Liz Truss, spoke of a “scary blow” brought to freedom of expression in Russia.

In the last two days, the Russian justice system has ordered in quick succession the dissolution of the central structure of the NGO, then that of its Center for Human Rights, pronounced Wednesday by a court in Moscow, in the midst of a wave of repression of criticism of the NGO. Kremlin. This ban concerns the structure of the NGO investigating violations in contemporary Russia, in particular those targeting opponents of Vladimir Putin’s power, migrants or sexual minorities.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the central entity of the NGO, Memorial International, and its subsidiaries which focus on the documentation of Soviet repressions. The director of the NGO, Alexander Tcherkassov, denounced a decision “Politics” and swore that the organization would continue to work “in one way or another”. Despite the freezing cold, several dozen people gathered outside the court to express their support for Russia’s oldest NGO, founded in 1989, in the twilight of the USSR.