The Russian Ministry of Justice has added the American organization HRW to the list of foreign and international non-governmental organizations whose activities are considered undesirable in Russia, Moscow's TASS announced earlier today.
"For more than three decades, HRW has pressured the government in post-Soviet Russia to comply." human rights and freedoms" said Philip Bolopion, HRW's executive director. "Our work has not changed, but what has changed dramatically is the total embrace of the dictator's policies, his stunning increase in repression and the scale of war crimes committed by his forces in Ukraine."
The decision to ban HRW was made on November 10, as can be seen from the Ministry of Justice's updated register of "undesirable" organizations, and the official reasons for the designation are not known, the HRW organization announced on its website. During the year 2022, six weeks after Russia began the full invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities revoked the registration of the Moscow office of the HRW organization, which had been operating in Russia since 1992. The office had to close because of this, but the work continued, according to HRW, recalling that it was engaged in Russia in 1978, during the Soviet era.
Law on undesirables
The law on "undesirable" organizations is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of repressive laws adopted by the Russian authorities in recent years to silence all criticism of the government and disable independent civil organizations, HRW points out. Under a 2015 Russian law, prosecutors can blacklist any country or international organization that allegedly undermines Russia's security, defense or constitutional order. These organizations and their materials are banned in Russia.
Individuals who continue to engage with these organizations, whether in Russia or abroad, may face administrative and criminal penalties, including a maximum prison sentence of six years, HRW said, explaining that Russian authorities interpret the term engagement broadly and arbitrarily.
"Branding human rights groups as undesirable is brazen and cynical. It only redoubles our determination to document human rights abuses and war crimes by the Russian authorities and ensure that those responsible are held accountable," said HRW Executive Director Philip Bolopion.
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