Russian authorities seek dissolution of Moscow Helsinki Group, country's oldest human rights organization

The Russian Justice Ministry has filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the human rights organization Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), Interfax reported on Tuesday, citing the Moscow City Court.

Eva Merkacheva, a member of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights, told Interfax that the suit was filed on a “technicality” after MHG allegedly took part in activities (such as trial monitoring) outside of the Moscow region despite officially being a “Moscow regional organization.”

The NGO also reported the lawsuit on its own website, explaining that:

The Justice Ministry points to the fact that the MHG conducted activities outside of the Moscow region, that the organization’s charter doesn’t match the relevant legislative requirements, and that the full package of required documents weren’t provided during the Justice Ministry’s unscheduled audit.

The ministry considers these violations flagrant and “not correctable by legal means,” according to the MHG website, and considers it necessary to dissolve the organization and ban its activities on Russian territory.

• The Moscow Helsinki Group, which was created in 1976, is Russia’s oldest human rights organization. One of its co-founders was famous historian and human rights advocate Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who headed the group from 1996 until her death in 2018.
• In 2012, after Russia’s “foreign agents” law was passed, MHG stopped accepting grants from abroad.