OVD-Info was recognized as a foreign agent. What's next?

On September 29, the Ministry of Justice included the independent human rights media project OVD-Info in the register of unregistered public associations acting as foreign agents.

English version OVD-Info was recognized as a foreign agent. What’s next?

We perceive what happened as an act of political pressure on OVD-Info. The inclusion in the register took place against the background of a large public campaign for the abolition of the legislation on foreign agents, which was initiated, among other things, by OVD-Info and which has already been joined by 229 institutions and more than 140 thousand people across the country. By the way, at the same time, the register of media outlets - "foreign agents" was replenished with 24 positions at once: the founder of "Mediazona", the human rights project "Zone of Law" and 22 "individuals", most of which are coordinators of the "Voice" movement, were added there. Two more non-profit organizations - from Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo - added to the register of NPO-foreign agents.

Inclusion in the register did not come as a surprise to us. For almost a decade now, we have been writing about politically motivated persecution every day, and it is difficult to surprise us. Especially now: we see what the weather is like outside the window and how, one after another, independent media, journalists and civil initiatives are recognized as foreign agents.

OVD-Info is an independent project. This means that we are not dependent on any structures, be it political movements or international foundations. We are not "foreign agents". We are not agents - we do not fulfill anyone's order and do not obey anyone's will. We are not foreign — we are probably the most popular human rights project in Russia: the only ones on whom OVD-Info depends are hundreds of thousands of citizens who support us with donations, reposts, volunteering and just a kind word.

The government apparently considers our project hostile. But we are not fighting either with power or for power - we are defending the right of citizens to freedom of assembly. We strive for the observance by the state of the basic rights guaranteed to all citizens of Russia by our Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. And we are sure that no state is able to develop steadily without protecting the rights of its citizens. This is obvious not only to a conditional liberal, but also to any statesman - in fact, we have always worked and continue to work with "state human rights" in the person of the apparatus of the federal Commissioner for Human Rights, the offices of regional commissioners and members of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation.

The theme of the protest actions and the political views of their participants are not important for us - it is important for us that all citizens of Russia have the right to freedom of assembly. That is why independence for us means, among other things, independence from any political parties and civil initiatives. That is why we protect everyone who faces a violation of their right to public actions - both left and right, and opposition, and pro-government, and supporters of Navalny, and activists of the Communist Party, and journalists of independent publications, and journalists of Russia Today.

But we see that state thinking and concern for the rights of citizens are not about the current government. On the contrary: those who work on the development of our civil society and really contribute to the strengthening of the state are declared enemies, foreign agents.

We are confident that the campaign unleashed by the authorities against civil initiatives and the media is disastrous not only for Russian civil society, but also for the state itself. But first of all, this campaign will hit people: in the case of the media, their readers who risk being left without alternative sources of information, and in the case of human rights projects, those who face violations of their rights and may find themselves face to face with the system.

The status of a foreign agent is not a “quality mark”, it is a black mark: it is not only and not so much about labels and markings or additional reporting, the whole point is in the legislation itself, which allows you to first throw a lasso on any objectionable initiative, and then arbitrarily to drag it out: since 2012, when the first version of foreign agency laws appeared, the responsibilities of the organizations included in this register have been constantly expanding, while the possibilities have been narrowing. In fact, any “foreign agent” organization can be forcibly liquidated at any time, and its leaders arrested. Recently, the same sword of Damocles hangs over all objectionable people who can be recognized as "foreign agents" already in their personal capacity - in fact, this is a "wolf ticket", practically incompatible with either professional or personal life.

What are we going to do about it?

First and foremost: OVD-Info will continue to work as it did. In connection with the new circumstances, it will be more difficult for us (for starters, we will probably have to hang a stupid plate with the very “black mark” on the site), but the need of society for us has not gone away: information still protects and a person still does not must remain one on one with the system.

Second, we will challenge the inclusion of our project in the register of foreign agents. We have little hope of a quick victory in the Russian courts, but we believe that sooner or later justice will prevail in the European Court of Human Rights.

Third, we call for solidarity with all the initiatives, media and journalists that have come under similar attack in recent months. With increased zeal, we will demand the abolition of the legislation on foreign agents and urge you to also join this campaign - first sign our petition . In addition, it is important to support those who face government pressure. On this site, you can choose who you want to support with the ruble - for the time being, the status of a foreign agent does not impose any additional risks on donors and beneficiaries.