Sakhalin Environmental Watch organization will close after being named a ‘foreign agent’

The organization Sakhalin Environmental Watch announced that it will close. The announcement came the day after the Russian Justice Ministry included the organization on its list of “foreign agents.”

“We have labored for 27 years over the preservation of salmon and bears, spawning rivers and taiga forests, killer whales and belugas, rare plants and disappearing huchos, clean air and preserved territory, the green plantings of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and city forests. We brought court cases, surveyed rivers, intercepted poachers, uncovered pollution, and sought punishment for violators… But now, someone above us has suddenly decided that we’re foreign agents — that we’re under ‘foreign influence’ and we’re conducting political activities,” says the organization’s “farewell post” on Telegram.

The group’s activists say they “categorically disagree” with the Justice Ministry’s decision. They say they have not broken any laws and work “only to ensure the ecological security of our homeland and preserve its unique wild nature.”

“You don’t choose your times, but you can choose how to live in those times. Unfortunately, our only choice today is to complete our projects and close the organization,” concluded the statement.

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