Russia: Prosecutor General’s Office brands Human Rights House Foundation ‘undesirable organisation’

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated Norway’s Human Rights House Foundation an “undesirable organisation”, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports.

The foundation’s website states that it supports over 80 human rights organisations operating across Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and the Caucasus.

“Together, we advocate for the freedoms of assembly, association, and expression and the right to be a human rights defender,” their about us page says.

In November 2022, the Russian State Duma was presented with a proposal to recognise the work of 30 foreign companies as “undesirable” and “extremist”. The Human Rights House was one of them.

At the end of June, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office branded Novaya Gazeta Europe an “undesirable organisation”. “The main topics of its publications include fake statements about alleged mass violations of rights and freedoms of Russian citizens, accusations that our country has unleashed an aggressive war in Ukraine and commits war crimes against civilians, as well as oppresses people,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.