The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as ,鈥� a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.
The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General鈥檚 office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The designation means the international human rights group must stop any work in Russia, and it subjects those who cooperate with it or support it to prosecution, including if anyone shares Amnesty International鈥檚 reports on social media.
Agn猫s Callamard, Amnesty International鈥檚 secretary general, said the move was part of the Russian government's efforts to silence dissent and isolate civil society. 鈥淭he authorities are deeply mistaken if they believe that by labeling our organization 鈥榰ndesirable,鈥� we will stop our work documenting and exposing human rights violations 鈥� quite the opposite," she said in a statement. "We will not give in to the threats and will continue undeterred to work to ensure that people in Russia are able to enjoy their human rights without discrimination."
Callamard said Amnesty International "will continue to work relentlessly to ensure that all those who are responsible for committing grave human rights violations, whether in Russia, Ukraine, or elsewhere, face justice.鈥�
Russia's list of 鈥渦ndesirable organizations鈥� currently covers 223 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups. Among those are prominent news organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or Russian independent outlet Meduza, think tanks like Chatham House, anti-corruption group Transparency International, and Open Russia, an opposition group founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled tycoon who became an opposition figure.
After Open Russia was declared undesirable in 2021 and disbanded to protect its members, its leader, Andrei Pivovarov, was arrested and convicted on charges of carrying out activities of an undesirable organization. He was sentenced to four years in prison and released in 2024 with the West since Soviet times.
Amnesty International was launched in 1961. The group documents and reports human rights violations around the globe and campaigns for the release of those it deems unjustly imprisoned. It has released reports on Russia's war in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of crimes against humanity, and has spoken out against the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent that has swept up thousands of people in recent years.
Amnesty International's recent statements on Russia included decrying a as a 鈥渂razen and politically motivated clampdown on peaceful activism.鈥�
It also spoke out against a series of arrests of publishing professionals in Russia last week over alleged 鈥淟GBTQ+ propaganda鈥� in books. 鈥淭his shameless heavy-handed use of state apparatus against literature is as absurd as it is terrifying,鈥� said Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International鈥檚 Russia director.
In its statement, the Prosecutor General's office accused the group of running 鈥淩ussophobic projects" and activities aimed at Russia's 鈥減olitical and economic isolation.鈥�
The Associated Press
