The Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" was self -destroyed

According to Radio Liberty, Sergei Sorokin, on Thursday evening, the members of the Komi Human Rights Commission Memorial considered that it was better to close the organization than to wear the stigma of “foreign agents”

Komi human rights activists considered that it is better to eliminate their organization than to wear the stigma of “foreign agents”.

According to Radio Liberty, Sergei Sorokin, on Thursday evening, the members of the Komi Human Rights Commission (CPC) Memorial decided to close the organization. The human rights activists were forced to take such a step after they did not manage to challenge the inclusion of NGOs in the register of “foreign agents” in court.

The first verification for the possible participation of foreign grants of the organization in the political life of the country "KPK" Memorial "successfully withstood in 2013. Then the experts of the regional department of the Ministry of Justice came to the conclusion that human rights activists are not engaged in political activities and do not fall under the law “On foreign agents”. Nevertheless, the results of the audit did not cause special enthusiasm among the NGOs, and the chairman of the board of “Memorial” Igor Sazhin predicted that the provocations against human rights defenders would continue.

Sazhin’s confidence in the negative development of events was explained by the policy of the Governor's team of the head of the Komi Vyacheslav Gaiser (currently accused of creating an organized criminal community and other crimes), the purpose of which was to clean up any public activity, not authorized by the authorities.

So it happened. In December last year, the FSB regional department initiated the examination of several materials posted in the 7x7 interregional Internet magazine. News, opinions, blogs ”, on the basis and financing of which the“ Memorial ”PPC took part. Acting as an expert, an employee of the Institute of Language, Literature and the History of the Komi Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yuri Shabaev, who studied publications for the formation of public moods that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the decision of the authorities, detract from authority and discredit state institutions, found a “policy” in two of them: in one, by journalists a quote from the resolution of the Syktyvkar rally of the Communists (“Governments Russia and Komi demonstrate unprofessionalism and the complete inability to carry out creative work ”), in another - the photo illustration of the means of visual agitation with the words“ Putin thief ”installed next to the building of the Kirov court at a time when the process over Alexei Navalny passed there.

Based on the expert’s conclusion, the Ministry of Justice again checked the most authoritative to the Komi human rights organization and this time saw “politics” in its activity. The Memorial CPC was proposed to register in the register of “foreign agents”, and after the refusal to make this department went to the court, which, in turn, imposed a fine of 300 thousand rubles at the NGO.

Attempts by the CCP, which at the time of publication of “discrediting” materials already abandoned foreign grants, left the founders of 7x7 and had no influence on the editorial policy of the publication, and challenge the decision of the Ministry of Justice were unsuccessful.

At the Thursday of the General Meeting of the CPC Memorial, human rights activists by a majority vote decided to eliminate the organization founded 18 years ago. The main reason for its liquidation in the minutes of the assembly states that for members of the NPO it is impossible to voluntarily accept the mocking and not corresponding to the true state of cases the stigma of “foreign agents”.