22 December 2021, 22:17
Petition in defence of “Memorials”* gains over 128,000 signatures
On the eve of the hearing of the Moscow City Court on the lawsuit to liquidate the human rights organization, a petition demanding not to allow the liquidation of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”* and the International Historical, Educational, Charity and Human Rights Society “Memorial”* (International Memorial) gained 128,625 signatures.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 12, after the lawsuits had been filed to liquidate the HRC “Memorial”* and the “International Memorial”*, an electronic petition was posted on the “Change.org” website in support of both NGOs.
The next hearing of the Moscow City Court on the lawsuit for the liquidation of the HRC “Memorial” is scheduled for December 23. The lawsuit was filed on November 8 by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors claimed that the NGO was justifying extremism and terrorism. On November 23, a preliminary court hearing was held, during which a plaintiff’s representative failed to explain why the NGO was subjected to a prosecutor’s inspection.
As of 2:35 p.m. Moscow time on December 22, the petition “Hands off Memorial*!” posted on the “Change.org” website has already gained 128,625 signatures.
“I have been following the self-sacrificing activities of the ‘Memorial’* for more than a decade. I believe that the activities of the NGO are extremely important. The state should do its best to support activists and enthusiasts of the ‘Memorial’*, which happened from time to time in previous years,” Vadim Shalygin wrote under the petition on December 20.
* The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice in the register of NPOs performing the functions of a foreign agent.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 22, 2021 at 03:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: The Caucasian Knot
