July 28, 2015
MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian human rights group said on Tuesday it is closing down its operations this week because of a repressive law, but has come up with a plan to continue its work.
The Committee against Torture has documented torture in Russia for 15 years and provided legal advice for victims, bringing forward the conviction of more than 100 police officers and investigators. The justice ministry earlier this year listed the group as a "foreign agent" in compliance with a law, requiring non-governmental organizations that receive funding from abroad and are engaged in loosely-defined "political activities" to register as "foreign agents." NGOs found the law discriminatory, saying that the term suggests they are spies.
Igor Kalyapin, head of the Committee against Torture, told reporters Tuesday that the organization will be "liquidated" this week because they refuse to comply with the law and thus admit that they "work for a foreign benefactor."
Kalyapin said they have set up a new head office that won't accept foreign funding, thus being able to dodge the listing of "foreign agent." His associates have also founded six other NGOs, which will receive foreign funding, to carry out the actual work — but in a clandestine manner.
"All of these organizations will be not be publicizing their work because any publicity, an interview, any mention of such an organization in the media will be treated by the justice ministry and prosecutors as political activities," thus exposing them to danger, Kalyapin said.
In June, the group's office in Chechnya was attacked by masked men armed with crowbars who bashed their way into the group's office, sending its staff fleeing. Kalyapin said roughly half of their 44 million ruble ($730,000) budget came from foreign funding last year. Some of their donors are shutting down their operations in Russia, like the MacArthur Foundation, and some are considering leaving. The recent registration of the new six NGOs and their formal lack of background could make it difficult for them to attract some foreign funding this year, Kalyapin said.
MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian human rights group said on Tuesday it is closing down its operations this week because of a repressive law, but has come up with a plan to continue its work.
The Committee against Torture has documented torture in Russia for 15 years and provided legal advice for victims, bringing forward the conviction of more than 100 police officers and investigators. The justice ministry earlier this year listed the group as a "foreign agent" in compliance with a law, requiring non-governmental organizations that receive funding from abroad and are engaged in loosely-defined "political activities" to register as "foreign agents." NGOs found the law discriminatory, saying that the term suggests they are spies.
Igor Kalyapin, head of the Committee against Torture, told reporters Tuesday that the organization will be "liquidated" this week because they refuse to comply with the law and thus admit that they "work for a foreign benefactor."
Kalyapin said they have set up a new head office that won't accept foreign funding, thus being able to dodge the listing of "foreign agent." His associates have also founded six other NGOs, which will receive foreign funding, to carry out the actual work — but in a clandestine manner.
"All of these organizations will be not be publicizing their work because any publicity, an interview, any mention of such an organization in the media will be treated by the justice ministry and prosecutors as political activities," thus exposing them to danger, Kalyapin said.
In June, the group's office in Chechnya was attacked by masked men armed with crowbars who bashed their way into the group's office, sending its staff fleeing. Kalyapin said roughly half of their 44 million ruble ($730,000) budget came from foreign funding last year. Some of their donors are shutting down their operations in Russia, like the MacArthur Foundation, and some are considering leaving. The recent registration of the new six NGOs and their formal lack of background could make it difficult for them to attract some foreign funding this year, Kalyapin said.
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