Russia's most prominent rights group Memorial on Saturday called a legal assault on their organization an "insult", warning it could seriously disrupt their work.
Senior members of Memorial, which investigates everything from the Stalin-era Gulag to government death squads in Chechnya, said a justice ministry case against the organization's coordinating body was groundless.
The Supreme Court is set on November 13 to hear the case in which the government seeks to liquidate Memorial's umbrella organisation, overseeing dozens of human rights groups nationwide.
"The very existence of the case is an insult against people who have for the past 20 years been doing the work that the state should have done," Yan Rachinsky, a senior Memorial member, told AFP.
If prosecutors succeed, many individual groups working under the Memorial name would "have to re-register," Rachinksy said.
That would throw many separate branches into legal limbo, even if the most famous offshoot -- the Moscow-based Memorial human rights centre -- would not be affected for now.
Rachinsky's colleague Oleg Orlov called the case "a shot across the bow."
"Further pressure can be expected," Orlov told AFP, adding that authorities could move against the Moscow rights centre, seen as the group's most prized asset.
- 'Severe blow to Russia's image' -
President Vladimir Putin's rights adviser Mikhail Fedotov said that if the court indeed ordered the shutdown of the group it would be a "severe blow to Russia's image."
"I hope it will not happen," Fedotov, head of the Kremlin's rights council, told AFP, expressing hope that the court would postpone the hearing.
Memorial said it would file a complaint to the Constitutional Court.
Memorial executive director Elena Zhemkova said separately that the group would ask the Supreme Court to postpone the hearing so that they could change its charter.
In the worst case scenario, "we will come up with a new form and structure," she said on Echo of Moscow radio.
Registered in 1992, Memorial is one of Russia's most respected human rights organisations.
It gained prominence for chronicling the victims of Communist repression, a painful subject that modern Russia has been reluctant to address.
The group became an even bigger presence through its investigations of executions and kidnappings committed against civilians during Moscow's wars, starting in the 1990s, to subdue Chechen separatists.
The authorities have steadily clamped down on rights organizations since the outbreak of street protests against Putin's return for a third term in the Kremlin in 2012.
Memorial, along with other rights groups, has been ordered to register itself as a "foreign agent" under a controversial 2012 law.
The legislation forced NGOs which carry out political activities and receive international funding to register and name themselves as "foreign agents" in all their documents -- a term laden with connotations of treachery and espionage.
-'This is Russia, baby'-
On Friday, another prominent rights group, the Mosow-based Sakharov Centre, became the target of religious activists when it hosted a meeting of gays and transgender people.
Around 30 activists, some clutching icons, tried to break into the centre and pelted its employees and guests with eggs, said gay rights activist Dmitry Svetly, who helped organise the meeting.
Svetly complained that police on the scene were more interested in ensuring that no minors had participated in the meeting than in maintaining public order.
Meanwhile, top opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta said it had received a reprimand from the state media watchdog on Friday.
The watchdog claimed one of the newspaper's articles, headlined "If we are not the West, then who are we?" and penned by outspoken commentator Yulia Latynina, violated a law against extremism, Novaya Gazeta said.
Two reprimands within the space of a year give authorities legal grounds to shut down a media outlet.
The paper, which had been seen as a contender for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, quipped that instead of the prestigious award it got a state warning.
"This is Russia, baby," it said on Facebook.
Russia’s most prominent rights group Memorial on Saturday called a legal assault on their organization an “insult”, warning it could seriously disrupt their work.
Senior members of Memorial, which investigates everything from the Stalin-era Gulag to government death squads in Chechnya, said a justice ministry case against the organization’s coordinating body was groundless.
The Supreme Court is set on November 13 to hear the case in which the government seeks to liquidate Memorial’s umbrella organisation, overseeing dozens of human rights groups nationwide.
“The very existence of the case is an insult against people who have for the past 20 years been doing the work that the state should have done,” Yan Rachinsky, a senior Memorial member, told AFP.
If prosecutors succeed, many individual groups working under the Memorial name would “have to re-register,” Rachinksy said.
That would throw many separate branches into legal limbo, even if the most famous offshoot — the Moscow-based Memorial human rights centre — would not be affected for now.
Rachinsky’s colleague Oleg Orlov called the case “a shot across the bow.”
“Further pressure can be expected,” Orlov told AFP, adding that authorities could move against the Moscow rights centre, seen as the group’s most prized asset.
– ‘Severe blow to Russia’s image’ –
President Vladimir Putin’s rights adviser Mikhail Fedotov said that if the court indeed ordered the shutdown of the group it would be a “severe blow to Russia’s image.”
“I hope it will not happen,” Fedotov, head of the Kremlin’s rights council, told AFP, expressing hope that the court would postpone the hearing.
Memorial said it would file a complaint to the Constitutional Court.
Memorial executive director Elena Zhemkova said separately that the group would ask the Supreme Court to postpone the hearing so that they could change its charter.
In the worst case scenario, “we will come up with a new form and structure,” she said on Echo of Moscow radio.
Registered in 1992, Memorial is one of Russia’s most respected human rights organisations.
It gained prominence for chronicling the victims of Communist repression, a painful subject that modern Russia has been reluctant to address.
The group became an even bigger presence through its investigations of executions and kidnappings committed against civilians during Moscow’s wars, starting in the 1990s, to subdue Chechen separatists.
The authorities have steadily clamped down on rights organizations since the outbreak of street protests against Putin’s return for a third term in the Kremlin in 2012.
Memorial, along with other rights groups, has been ordered to register itself as a “foreign agent” under a controversial 2012 law.
The legislation forced NGOs which carry out political activities and receive international funding to register and name themselves as “foreign agents” in all their documents — a term laden with connotations of treachery and espionage.
-‘This is Russia, baby’-
On Friday, another prominent rights group, the Mosow-based Sakharov Centre, became the target of religious activists when it hosted a meeting of gays and transgender people.
Around 30 activists, some clutching icons, tried to break into the centre and pelted its employees and guests with eggs, said gay rights activist Dmitry Svetly, who helped organise the meeting.
Svetly complained that police on the scene were more interested in ensuring that no minors had participated in the meeting than in maintaining public order.
Meanwhile, top opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta said it had received a reprimand from the state media watchdog on Friday.
The watchdog claimed one of the newspaper’s articles, headlined “If we are not the West, then who are we?” and penned by outspoken commentator Yulia Latynina, violated a law against extremism, Novaya Gazeta said.
Two reprimands within the space of a year give authorities legal grounds to shut down a media outlet.
The paper, which had been seen as a contender for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, quipped that instead of the prestigious award it got a state warning.
“This is Russia, baby,” it said on Facebook.
