Support The Moscow Times!

Prominent Anti-Racism NGO Sued Under Russian 'Undesirables’ Law

The Moscow Prosecutor's Office Moscow Prosecutor's Office Press Service

The City Prosecutor's Office is suing a prominent anti-extremism monitoring think-tank under Russia’s infamous 2015 “undesirable organization” law, the group said in an online post on Thursday.

The SOVA Center — a group that researches nationalism, xenophobia and racism in Russia — said Moscow city prosecutors have summoned its director Alexander Verkhovsky to press charges for links to two blacklisted U.S.-based institutions on SOVA’s website.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Open Society Foundation of George Soros (OSF) were declared “undesirable organizations” under the so-called “foreign agents” law passed by Russia in 2012. SOVA said that links to their websites were included in the center's “About Us” section, listed as “donors from previous years.”

SOVA argued in their Thursday statement that the links did not “spread the material directly” but “adhered to online etiquette” by allowing users to familiarize themselves with the organizations. “In the current situation, the SOVA Center is forced to remove these links,” the group said. The OSF and NED remain listed on the center’s website on Thursday.

Russia’s Justice Ministry blacklisted the SOVA Center as a “foreign agent” in December 2016. The 2012 law requires politically engaged NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register under the label, which has Soviet-era connotations of espionage. 

It implies additional and often crippling scrutiny from law enforcement and, under a 2015 amendment, allows prosecutors to shut down "undesirable" foreign non-profit groups without judicial scrutiny.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more