Samuel Franklin at 9:48 AM ET
Saturday, June 8, 2013
UN concerned Russia NGOs being unfairly targeted by prosecutors
UN concerned Russia NGOs being unfairly targeted by prosecutors
Samuel Franklin at 9:48 AM ET
[JURIST] The UN released a letter
[text, PDF] on Thursday from UN human rights experts voicing their
concern that two Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been
charged by Russian prosecutors following their involvement with the UN Committee against Torture [official website]. The Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial in St. Petersburg and the Public Verdict Foundation [advocacy websites] in Moscow allegedly violated Russian law when they gave evidence [UN press release] to the UN Committee. The law requires NGOs and non-commercial organizations
(NCOs) [JURIST op-ed] to register as foreign agents if they engage in
any political activity or receive foreign funding. Committee against
Torture Chairperson Claudio Grossman and the Committee's Rapporteur on
Reprisals George Tugushi wrote Russia's UN ambassador seeking
reassurance that no NGO would be targeted for their "legitimate
activities."
Russia's human rights record has come under fire recently,
particularly the foreign agents law adopted last November. The UN had
previously condemned the law's "obstructive, intimidating and
stigmatizing effects" on the country's NGOs and urged [JURIST report] Russia to revise the law to comply with international standards. Critics have argued that President Vladimir Putin
[official website, in Russian] is taking steps backwards toward a more
restrictive government, claiming the foreign agents law is curbing free
speech and allows the government to severely penalize the works of NGOs.
Last month, in addition to concern over the law, the EU also urged
[JURIST report] Russia to refrain from adopting legislation on
"homosexual propaganda," which the EU believes could "increase
discrimination and violence against LGBTI individuals."
Samuel Franklin at 9:48 AM ET
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