14:22, 29 November 2021

Number of signatures to petition in defence of "Memorials"* exceeds 115,000

Screenshot of the petition demanding to prevent the closure of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial" https://www.change.org/p/

The petition demanding to prevent the closure of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" and the "International Memorial" has already gathered 115,158 signatures.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 12, after the lawsuits to liquidate the HRC "Memorial" and the "International Memorial", a petition appeared on the "Change.org" website in support of both organizations.

According to the text of the petition, one of its main missions is to consolidate the public opinion protest and support the "public defenders."

On November 8, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit with the Moscow City Court to liquidate the HRC "Memorial", claiming that the centre had justified extremism and terrorism.

The trial on the lawsuit for the liquidation of the "International Memorial" began on November 25 at the Russian Supreme Court (SC). Oleg Orlov, a human rights defender, has noted that the SC is considering the case formally, without comparing the scale of the violations imputed to the organization with the significance of its work.

The closure of the "Memorials" will inflict a serious harm to the protection of human rights in Northern Caucasus, human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 29, 2021 at 11:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: CK correspondent