A court in Nizhny Novgorod declared the Committee Against Torture bankrupt

The Nizhny Novgorod Arbitration Court declared bankrupt the human rights organization “Committee against Torture” (CAT), which was being liquidated after being included in the register of “foreign agents”. TASS reports this.

The bankruptcy claim for the Committee Against Torture was filed by Igor Kalyapin, the former head and now liquidator of the organization. The lawsuit was filed in the fall of 2015, after the announcement of the self-liquidation of the Committee against Torture.

“An external arbitration manager has been appointed, who must study the organization’s documentation and try to take measures to repay existing accounts payable,” Kalyapin told TASS.

According to him, the reorganization procedure will last approximately two months, after which a final liquidation plan will be drawn up. The reason for filing the bankruptcy claim was three fines totaling 900 thousand rubles, imposed on the “Committee against Torture” for refusing to be labeled as a “foreign agent”.

The human rights organization “Committee against Torture” appeared in 2000 in Nizhny Novgorod. She was involved in helping victims of violence by law enforcement officers. The organization was led by a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Igor Kalyapin. In 2015, the Ministry of Justice designated the Committee Against Torture as a “foreign agent.”

The organization tried several times to challenge this decision, but failed. As a result, the Committee Against Torture announced its self-liquidation. In place of the liquidated organization, the “Committee for the Prevention of Torture” was created, which on January 14 was also included in the register of “foreign agents.” The head of the “Committee,” commenting on this decision of the Ministry of Justice, assured that the organization will not stop working and will never recognize itself as a “foreign agent.”