[RBC] The Supreme Court continued to consider the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office on the liquidation of the international organization "Memorial" (recognized as a foreign agent).
In the debate of the parties, the representative of the Prosecutor General's Office Alexei Zhafyarov said that the organization poses a public threat, "speculates on the topic of political repression, distorts the historical memory, including the Great Patriotic War, and creates a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state," the RBC correspondent reports.
In addition, the prosecution believes that Memorial, under the guise of restoring historical memory, is trying to "rehabilitate Nazi criminals and traitors to their homeland."
Zhafyarov clarified that “someone pays for all this”.
The international organization "Memorial" was included in the register of NPO-foreign agents in 2016. It specializes in research on political repression in the USSR. On November 11, the General Prosecutor's Office applied to the Supreme Court with a demand to liquidate Memorial.
In addition, the Moscow prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit to liquidate the interregional public organization "Human Rights Center" Memorial "(recognized as an NGO-foreign agent). She is accused of violating the law on foreign agents for the lack of marking in the publication of materials.
After filing the lawsuit, Memorial said that they saw no legal basis for liquidating the organization, and called the actions of the Prosecutor General's Office "a political decision to destroy society."
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At a hearing in the Moscow City Court on December 23, a representative of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office said that Memorial's materials could cause a “depression” among those who read them. “The mental health of citizens may suffer.
These materials can cause, among other things, a depressive state of citizens, "- said the prosecutor, answering a question from attorney Maria Eismont about the "destructive" consequences of distributing Memorial materials without marking that the center is considered a foreign agent.
When asked whether the prosecutor's office had established such facts, the representative of the department replied that data on such cases were not attached to the case file. In addition, the prosecutor said that Memorial's materials could have a negative impact on the "spiritual and moral development of minors."
After the lawyers asked to clarify this argument, the plaintiff's representative stated that the children could not critically assess the information disseminated by the Memorial Human Rights Center.
Memorial's trial caused a great public outcry. Many public figures, scientists, politicians in Russia and abroad spoke out in defense of the organization.
Says the BBC:
Russia's Supreme Court has ordered the closure of International Memorial, Russia's oldest human rights group.
Memorial worked to recover the memory of the millions of innocent people executed, imprisoned or persecuted in the Soviet era.
Formally it has been "liquidated" for failing to mark a number of social media posts with its official status as a "foreign agent".
That designation was given in 2016 for receiving funding from abroad.
But in court, the prosecutor labelled Memorial a "public threat", accusing the group of being in the pay of the West to focus attention on Soviet crimes instead of highlighting a "glorious past".
Founded in 1989, Memorial became a symbol of a country opening up to the world - and to itself - as Russia began examining the darkest chapters of its past. Its closure is a stark symbol of how the country has turned back in on itself under President Vladimir Putin, rejecting criticism - even of history - as a hostile act.
Lawyers criticized the decision to liquidate International Memorial *
[KavkazUzel] The decision of the Supreme Court of Russia to liquidate International Memorial * is unjust and politically motivated, it will be appealed, the organization's lawyers said. The organization is looking for formats for further work, said Yan Rachinsky, head of the board of the International Memorial.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, today the Supreme Court of Russia held a debate of the parties on the case of the liquidation of the "International Memorial". At them, representatives of the organization and the defense called on the court not to satisfy the claim of the prosecutor's office, but the court decided to liquidate the organization and its regional divisions. The judge, having voiced the decision, did not read out the reasoning. Those present in the hall greeted the decision with shouts of "Shame!"
The Supreme Court of Russia notified International Memorial that the Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit to liquidate it due to the lack of marking on the status of a foreign agent, on November 11. The lawsuit began on November 25. On December 14, nine volumes of materials were heard at the court session . The court agreed to attach to the case the signatures under the electronic petition in support of Memorials, but denied other petitions to the defense.
Immediately after the session, first in the hall and then on the threshold of the building of the Supreme Court, the lawyers of International Memorial were surrounded by journalists, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent who was present at the court reports.
Henry Reznik said that the decision was unjust and would certainly be appealed. He considers the reasons for such a court decision to be political motives, the fear of representatives of the authorities of active participation in public life of independent non-governmental organizations.
"We see that independent media are announced as foreign agents. We see dubious criminal cases. Everything that is independent, including those that have independent funding, arouses the authorities' suspicion. Now we are at a stage in development. But I'm sure we'll get through it. We will come to the understanding that human rights are above the state," said Henry Reznik.
Another lawyer representing International Memorial, Mikhail Biryukov, in turn, said that such a court decision was conditioned by the political situation and was intended to "search for the enemy."
"After the ultimatum on NATO and the search for an external enemy, the authorities need to find an internal enemy to enhance the effect. And, unfortunately, they found him in the person of Memorial," he said.
Lawyer Tatyana Glushkova said that the motivation part should be transferred to the defense within five days, according to the law. “Most likely, this will happen after the New Year holidays, and then we will file a cassation appeal,” she said.
Today's court decision was the most likely, said Yan Rachinsky , chairman of the board of International Memorial.
"There were two possible solutions. And what happened was more likely. Since the courts have forgotten how to argue with the prosecutor's office, especially with the general," Yan Rachinsky told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
He also noted that the organization will now think about the format of further work.
"We will think about what to do to continue our activities. Memorial is not only International Memorial, it is a multitude of organizations, and in one way or another the work will continue," stressed Yan Rachinsky.
As a reminder, on November 23, the Moscow City Court began considering a claim to liquidate the Memorial Human Rights Center. The Moscow prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in court, stating that the organization justifies extremism and terrorism. The last meeting took place on 23 December. Tomorrow, December 29, the process will continue.
On November 12, the Change.Org website published a petition in support of the Memorial Human Rights Center. As of 21:05 Moscow time on December 28, 138,783 people signed it . Who else is in defense of Memorial, and what persecution he was subjected to earlier, is described in the updated information of the Caucasian Knot."
The public outcry caused by the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office to liquidate this organization eloquently testifies to the value and significance of the work of the International Memorial, lawyer Tatyana Glushkova pointed out to the court during the trial. The court is considering the case formally, without comparing the scale of the violations imputed to the organization with the significance of its work, said human rights activist Oleg Orlov after the first meeting. The prosecutor's office chose the tactics of trivializing the process, avoiding talking about its repressiveness and absurdity, said lawyer Grigory Vaypan.
Earlier, human rights activists, lawyers and journalists indicated that the closure of Memorials would seriously damage the protection of human rights in the North Caucasus. Dunja Mijatovic, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, has twice opposed the liquidation of Memorials.