EU condemns the closure of Russian civil rights group

As the Russian aggression towards Ukraine is continuously increasing, as the support to Belarus dictator Lukashenko, the Kremlin crackdown on the civil society and the democratic forces of Russia is also increasing. After years of suppressing whats is left of the democratic institutions in the country, the main target of the Kremlin this week is the NGO Memorial. Memorial, Russia’s oldest and perhaps most renowned civil rights group, has worked since 1989 to preserve and present memories of the atrocitites that faced the Russian people under the Soviet rule.

Now being described as a ”foreign agent” – and with Russian government agencies falsely claiming that Memorial has failed to label itself that properly – the NGO is facing legal charges. This week, Russian courts will decide whether or not to liquidate the whole organisation. This intervention has been condemned by the European Union, the United States and is yet another example of the authoritarian development which is proceeding in Russia, all orchestrated by Vladimir Putin.