Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday declared the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Memorial an "extremist" organization and ordered an immediate ban on all of the group's activities in Russia under threat of criminal penalty.
The move is the latest in the Kremlin's years-long attack on the internationally respected group and will allow authorities to hand down long jail sentences to anyone caught supporting or participating in any Memorial activities or even sharing material that it publishes.
What did Russia's Supreme Court say about Memorial?
A statement released by the court after a closed-door hearing from which Memorial's lawyers were barred said the group and its supporters are, "clearly anti-Russian in nature and are aimed at destroying the basic foundations of Russian statehood, violating its territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values."
Thursday's ruling cited "the international public movement Memorial," which Memorial says does not exist.
The group said the court's vague designation is deliberately designed to enable prosecutions against anyone speaking out on human rights or historical crimes.
"This unlawful decision marks a new stage of political pressure on Russian civil society," said Memorial in a statement.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the ruling, blasting it as "an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression."
Politzek — voices that defy the Kremlin
Memorial's renown didn't shield it from repression
Memorial, founded in the late 1980s with the mission of commemorating the victims of Soviet political persecution, is one of Russia's oldest and most respected human rights organizations. It continues to track human rights abuses in Russia to this day.
The group, like many other civic organizations and NGOs, has long been a thorn in President Vladimir Putin's side as he continues his relentless attacks on freedom of speech, expression and the press.
Memorial was previously labeled a "foreign agent," suffering massive fines for its activities.
Various arms of the organization were ordered closed in late 2021, yet the group remained undeterred.
In 2022, just months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Memorial was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside imprisoned Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.
In 2023, group members founded the International Memorial Association in Geneva, Switzerland. That group was labeled "undesirable" earlier this year, meaning that anyone involved with it can be tried under Russian law.
In 2024, Memorial leader Olg Orlov was jailed for "discrediting the Russian armed forces." He was later freed in a prisoner swap with the US.
Memorial says more than 1,500 individuals are currently jailed in Russia as political prisoners.
The Kremlin insists it is simply enforcing Russia's laws against those who commit crimes.
Crackdown keeps up as agents storm independent newspaper's offices
The Kremlin's crackdown did not end with Memorial on Thursday, in fact it did not even stop for a pause.
Around the same time the court decision came out, masked government agents stormed the Moscow offices of independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Novaya Gazeta is Russia's most well-known independent news source and, like Memorial, it has been in the Kremlin's sights for some time.
Russian state media reported that federal security officers had conducted searches related to the "illegal use of personal data."
Novaya Gazeta released a statement on the messaging app Telegram saying it did not know why the raid was taking place and that its lawyers had been barred access to the premises.
Russia has tightened censorship laws and piled pressure on independent media since launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Courtesy: DW
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
