Moscow shutting down Amnesty, Human Rights Watch in Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia said Friday, April 8 it was shutting down the local offices of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that have been working in the country for the past 30 years, The Moscow Times said.

The announcement came on the 44th day of Russia's military campaign in pro-Western Ukraine, with thousands killed and more than 11 million having fled their homes or the country in the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Human Rights Watch has been operating in Russia for 30 years, while Amnesty has had a presence in the country since 1993.

All in all, 15 organizations have been taken off Russia's registry of international organizations and foreign NGOs due to "violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation," the Justice Ministry said in a statement without providing further details.

Russia also shut down the local offices of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Wspolnota Polska Association and other organizations.

Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said there was little doubt the move was in response to the organization's reporting on Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

"The Russian government had already made it abundantly clear that it has no use for any facts, regarding the protection of civilians in Ukraine. This is just one small further proof of that," Denber said in a statement to AFP.