Russia’s Memorial organisation faces two direct threats to its existence this week under the country’s ‘foreign agent’ legislation.
The organisation, which has existed for 33 years, is well known for its work in collecting information about Soviet state repressions and repressions in Russia today. But it is also known as the incubator of a whole host of human rights and civil society projects in the country - and as an international research hub.
Now, however, Russian prosecutors have brought two suits against the organisation. The first, by Moscow prosecutors, claims that Memorial has broken Russia’s ‘foreign agent’ legislation for not marking several books with the ‘foreign agent’ label at a book fair; the second, by the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office, argues that Memorial, through its work in defending and collecting information on political prisoners today, has also violated ‘foreign agent’ legislation by conducting “political activity”, and “justifying” terrorism.
