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US, EU condemn decision to shut Russian human rights group Memorial

Reuters

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US, EU condemn decision to shut Russian human rights group Memorial

'WE WILL LIVE FOREVER.' Police officers restrain a supporter of the human rights group International Memorial outside a court building during a hearing of the Russian Supreme Court to consider the closure of International Memorial in Moscow, Russia December 28, 2021. The placard reads: 'We will live forever.'

Evgenia Novozhenina/REUTERS

'The claim by Russian authorities that Memorial Human Rights Center’s principled and peaceful work "justifies extremism and terrorism" cannot be accepted,' the US, EU, Australia, Canada, and Britain say in a joint statement

The United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada, and Britain on Friday, December 31, condemned Russian court decisions to shut the country’s oldest human rights group Memorial and its sister organization, the Memorial Human Rights Center.

“For more than three decades, Memorial has fulfilled a unique role in documenting historical crimes and recovering for posterity the memory of the tens of millions of victims of political repression in the country,” the countries said in a joint statement issued late on Friday.

The decision to silence Memorial followed many months of deepening and systematic repression in Russia against human rights defenders, independent media and journalists, political opposition members and critical voices, the countries noted.

“The claim by Russian authorities that Memorial Human Rights Center’s principled and peaceful work ‘justifies extremism and terrorism’ cannot be accepted,” the statement said. “Memorial’s work has never been more needed.”

Russia’s Memorial Human Rights Center was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, December 29, a day after its sister organization – Russia’s oldest human rights group – was forced to close.

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The Human Rights Center keeps a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The list includes Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of “unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation.”

The Center operates a network of offices across the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, where it has documented rights abuses in places such as Chechnya and provided legal and practical help to victims.

The US, the EU, Australia, Canada, and Britain called on Russia to uphold its international human rights obligations and commitments.

“The people of Russia, like people everywhere, have the right to freedom of expression and association, including in defense of their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement said. – Rappler.com

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