Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a request by the country's Prosecutor General's Office to liquidate the Memorial International Society, which had previously been included in the list of "foreign agents". The official reason is "systemic violations" of the law on foreign agents. Now all regional offices and structural units of the organization must be closed, writes the newspaper "Kommersant".
"Memorial intends to appeal the liquidation decision, and will also appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)," said Jan Raczynski, chairman of the organization's board.
Dozens of people gathered to protest the decision near the courthouse. Following the sentencing, they began chanting, "Shame!" Several activists were detained during the rally, standing in court with placards in support of Memorial. The exact number of detainees is not known, the media reported at least two.
On December 28, the court held a debate between the parties, during which the prosecutor accused Memorial of creating a "false image of the USSR as a terrorist state." The Ministry of Justice and Roskomnadzor also advocated the liquidation of the Memorial. The organization's defense called the claim unfounded.
The Prosecutor General's Office sent a lawsuit to the Supreme Court on November 8th. On the same day, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit in the Moscow City Court with a request to liquidate the Memorial Center for Human Rights (also recognized as a foreign agent). The Sofia Prosecutor's Office found "signs of justification" for extremism and terrorism in the organization's activities. Veterans of Russia have demanded that the Memorial be brought to justice for the rehabilitation of Nazism. President Vladimir Putin hoped that the process of liquidating the Memorial would be objective.
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