The Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit to eliminate the Moscow Helsinsky group

The leadership of the Moscow Helsinki group received a lawsuit against liquidation from the Ministry of Justice of Russia. About this writes "New Gazeta" with reference to the MHG itself.

The decision was made after an unscheduled audit, which was carried out by the Ministry of Justice at the request of the prosecutor's office. Human rights activist Pavel Chikov noted that the card of the liquidation case has already appeared on the website of the Moscow City Court.

A member of the Human Rights Council Eva Merkacheva confirmed to Interfax that the MHG received a lawsuit about liquidation.

“Yes, they filed a lawsuit about its liquidation, on the formal basis that it is allegedly regional, but participated in events in other regions. There is a very strange story, because the MHG really had representatives in some courts in other subjects, but again they believe that it was within the framework of partnerships of some relations, that is, they arrived there, it does not mean that they carried out a separate event in the territory of another subject, ”Merkacheva said.

What is MHG

The Moscow Helsinki group has been working since 1976, this is the oldest Russian human rights organization. The initiator and first head of the ICG was a physicist, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR, professor Yuri Fedorovich Orlov. The mission of the Moscow Helsinki group - promoting the observance of human rights and building democracy in Russia.

MHG was subjected to constant persecution and pressure from the KGB. From 1976 to 1982, eight members of the group were arrested and condemned to different terms or exile, and six more were forced to emigrate from the USSR and deprived of citizenship. On September 6, 1982, the three remaining group members were forced to announce the termination of work. MHG resumed its activities in 1989 at the height of perestroika.

Since 1996, the group was headed by one of its founders Lyudmila Alekseev. She died in December 20218. In January 2019, the Moscow Helsinki group was headed by three co -chairs - Valery Borschev, Vyacheslav Bakhmin and Dmitry Makarov.

The organization was recognized as a "foreign agent" in 2013. In December 2020, the Moscow Art Theater announced the "emergency with human rights in Russia."

"Over the past years, this situation, the provision in compliance with laws, the state of judicial and law enforcement systems in the country are continuously worsening," human rights activists noted. They emphasized that the authorities demonstrate the unpreparedness to talk with society on equal terms, constantly invading the sphere of civil and political freedoms and narrowing space for criticism and any alternative opinion.

How the "memorial" was eliminated

In 2021, one of the oldest human rights projects "Memorial" was liquidated in Russia. In November 2021, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court on the liquidation of two structures - the human rights center "Memorial" and the International Human Resources, Human Rights and Charity Society "Memorial".

The lawsuit stated that the Memorial repeatedly violated the law on “foreign agents” (the company was submitted to the Ministry of Justice in 2016), the total amount of fines for violations amounted to 4.5 million rubles. The Memorial stated that he corrected all violations related to the labeling of the "foreign Agent".

In December 2021, both organizations were liquidated. The European Court of Human Rights demanded to suspend the liquidation process until he considers the complaint of Russian non -profit organizations to the law on "foreign agents". The "international" memorial "and the human rights center" Memorial "was refused.

Human rights activist Pavel Chikov compiled a list of organizations that were also liquidated in 2021 and 2022.

• The public organization "Hot Line" Leo Ponomarev, who was engaged in the protection of human rights in various areas of life, and also investigated reports of torture.
• ANO "Astrea" - partner of the legal initiative in Russia. This is a human rights organization that worked in the North Caucasus and was engaged in the prevention of family violence. Also "Astra" sought to provide medicines for children with SMA.
• Foundation "League of voters". He was engaged in public control in the elections. In 2020, the fund was included in the register of "foreign agents" due to a donation of 225 rubles, which in July 2019 made a citizen of Moldova at him. In December 2021, the Moscow Basmanny Court decided to liquidate the organization.
• The trade union of journalists and employees of the media. The prosecutor’s office applied with a lawsuit to liquidate the trade union due to its publications about the war in Ukraine. The basis was the "systematic violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation." A violation of the authorities considered the pickets in support of their colleagues - Ivan Safronov, Svetlana Prokopyeva.