Russia's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to designate Memorial International Public Movement, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group, as an extremist organization. The ruling, which is immediately enforceable, allows authorities to prosecute anyone who works for or shares materials published by Memorial.
Key Takeaways
Russia's Supreme Court ruled to label Memorial International Public Movement as an extremist organization, banning its activities within the country. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning group has been documenting human rights violations in Russia since 1987. According to UPI and Al Jazeera, the ruling allows authorities to prosecute anyone associated with or sharing materials from Memorial. - Russian Supreme Court designates Memorial as extremist organization - Nobel Committee condemns decision, calling it an affront to fundamental values of freedom of expression - Memorial ceases all activities within Russia but continues work outside the country
The court's decision followed closed-door hearings and was reported by UPI. Memorial, founded in 1987, has been dedicated to documenting human rights violations in the Soviet Union. The group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 alongside Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties and Ales Bialiatski.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, as reported by Reuters and Al Jazeera, condemned Russia's attempt to criminalize Memorial. The committee expressed alarm at the Russian authorities' latest attempts to destroy Memorial, stating that designating such an organization as extremist is an affront to fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.
Memorial responded to the ruling by ceasing all activities directly within Russia but announced it would continue its work outside the country. The group's chairman, Oleg Orlov, was jailed for 30 months in February 2024 after accusing Russia of 'mass murder' in Ukraine and describing his country as a 'totalitarian' state.
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