MOSCOW: Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered the closure of the country’s oldest human rights group, the Memorial International. The memorial was established in the late 1980s to speak out against the political repression in the Soviet Union. The court also ordered the closure of the Human Rights Center, a subsidiary of Memorandum. The decision was reportedly in line with the country’s controversial foreign agent law. The Memorial Human Rights Center and the Memorial International are movements that advocate for the rights of political prisoners. There have been widespread protests against the court order. Earlier, it was reported that Putin had introduced a foreign agent law targeting NGOs and media outlets critical of the Russian government.
Countries, including Britain and the United States, have reacted by saying that the new move is aimed at criticizing the Russian government, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
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