Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Russian Court Orders Closure of Country’s Oldest Human Rights Group

THE GUARDIAN: Supreme court ruling on Memorial is watershed moment in Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on independent thought

A Russian supreme court judge delivers the verdict. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Russia’s supreme court has ordered the closure of Memorial, the country’s oldest human rights group, in a watershed moment in Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on independent thought.

The court ordered Memorial’s closure under Russia’s controversial “foreign agent” legislation, which has targeted dozens of NGOs and media outlets seen as critical of the government.

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s to document political repressions carried out under the Soviet Union, building a database of victims of the Great Terror and gulag camps. It has also grown into an important advocate for the cause of human rights in Russia, spawning branches and initiatives in many of Russia’s more than 80 regions. » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Comment Vladimir Poutine poursuit la réécriture du passé soviétique : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le travail titanesque de l’organisation russe Memorial, véritable «conscience» historique de la nation et pilier central de la résistance à la répression politique actuelle, vient d’être stoppé en plein vol avec sa dissolution par la Cour suprême. »