The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said it condemned a Russian court decision to shut down the country’s oldest human rights group, Memorial International, and is following with concern Russia’s ongoing efforts to close sister organization Memorial Human Rights Center.
“We urge Russian authorities to end their harassment of independent voices and human rights defenders and stand in solidarity with those who have been targeted for repression for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly”.
Memorial has highlighted repressions against civil society and the absence of an independent judiciary in the Russian Federation, as well as exposing the murders of millions of Soviet citizens and foreigners, including several thousand Czechs, the statement says.
The decision triggers the closure of “Memorial International Historical, Educational, Charitable, and Human Rights Society, its regional branches and other structural units,” said Judge Alla Nazarova, according to the Interfax news agency.
