Russian Ministry of Justice has registered NGOs – foreign agents three regional non-governmental organizations, including the Sakharov Center, according to the site office. “The Public Commission for the Conservation of Heritage Sakharov” entered in the register as compliance is featured non-profit organization acting as a foreign agent, has been established in the course of the Main Department of the Ministry of Justice of Russia in Moscow unscheduled documentary check, “- said in a statement.
Also in the list were made Kaliningrad regional public organization “Human Rights Center” and the Krasnodar regional public organization of college graduates.
Director of the Sakharov Center Sergei Lukashevsky told RFE that the final decision on whether the center is going to challenge the actions of the Ministry of Justice, will be made on December 29 at a general meeting of members of the organization:
– In the inspection report states that, according to the Ministry of Justice, our organization is engaged in political activities. Our political activity – it is free and open discussion and expert dialogues that we organize. Law on the organization performing functions of the foreign agent, the whole contrary to the basic fundamentals of human rights and freedoms. But even from the point of view of the law, the decision on Sakharov Center contradicting him. There are no reports of expert opinions or statements about the decisions of the authorities Sakharov Center did not issue and did not take.
– Who nonprofit organizations in Russia have to act according to the logic of the law, which was adopted by the State Duma and approved by the president. Now we have to prove that you do not engage in political activity. You are on this and aktsentiruete attention, but do not deny that received foreign funding, foreign grants. ..
– We never denied. This information is open. We always had to provide such information to Ministry of Justice. We opened our funding sources published on our site. Also, I should note that, despite the objective increase in the amounts allocated by the Russian government to support non-profit organizations, this funding is arranged so that an organization like ours, can not exist at the expense of domestic grants. There does not provide a full institutional funding. It only project financing. So we resorted to foreign funding. Firstly, in order to maintain our museum, exhibition hall, our room. On the other hand, we believe that the task of an independent public organization – have diversified sources of funding, which can be both Russian and foreign. We proceeded from the fact that the promotion of values that defended Andrei Sakharov, political activity can not be.
We proceeded from the fact that the promotion of values, who defended Andrei Sakharov, political activity can not be
– Your story is almost completely repeats the story of the Kostroma center support community initiatives, one of the first NGOs that recognized a foreign agent. They appealed to the Constitutional Court, but in the end still had to eliminate the organization, and even pay a fine. Do you think it possible that the Sakharov Center also may cease to exist?
– Yes, of course I admit this possibility, because we do not know what the reaction of the state. Now there are many community organizations that are ready to be arbitrarily open, but not willing to put up with this hanging the label. We do not know how to act in the state. Exclude nothing is impossible. But we will certainly something to take within the Russian legal system, – says Sergey Lukashevsky.
It is still not resolved the fate of other old Russian human rights organization “Memorial”, already made by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign agents. September 17 the Ministry of Justice went to court, demanding to close the “Memorial”, referring to the numerous violations of the law on NGOs. The Supreme Court postponed the hearing on the suit on January 28, 2015.
At the end of November “Memorial” visited Moscow supported the Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland, the Council of Europe. At a meeting with members of the Moscow office of the organization he called “Memorial” “wonderful human rights organization” and its creator Andrei Sakharov – “outstanding European.” Thorbjorn Jagland praised the work of Russian human rights activists, noting that they are “not only preserve the history of Russia”, but also engaged in “protecting the rights of the individual and the construction of the rule of law.”
December 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with representatives of the Human Rights Council, on which he asked questions about the pressure on human rights organizations. Vladimir Putin noted that “the pressure on the organization should not be, and that the Law on NGOs” “ought to be corrected,” but exactly how is not specified.
In early December, Russian Ministry of Justice filed a case against another non-profit organization “Lawyers for constitutional rights and freedoms” in connection with the failure to provide information on the performance of the functions of a “foreign agent”. Previously, defendants in such cases have become the “Voice” and “Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg”. Its listing of “foreign agents” intends to appeal the Fund “Public Verdict” – The Moscow City Court upheld the application of this organization in the register of the Ministry of Justice. NGO law, make life difficult for many public and human rights organizations in Russia, was adopted in July 2012 and entered into force in November. It obliges NGOs funded from abroad to register as “foreign agents”. Since the beginning of this year the right registration of the organization in the register referred to Ministry of Justi ce. Human rights activists demand to remove from them the label of “foreign agent”, but in the department say that such a procedure is not provided in the law.
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