Russia declares U.S. Clooney Foundation an undesirable organization

[August 19, 2024]  (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors said on Monday they had designated The Clooney Foundation for Justice, a U.S. non-profit group, as an "undesirable" organization for carrying out work at "a Hollywood scale" to discredit Moscow. 

Director George Clooney and his wife lawyer Amal Clooney attend a premiere for the film 'The Boys in the Boat' in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., December 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

The Foundation was founded by actor George Clooney and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

The label "undesirable" has been applied to tens of foreign groups since Moscow began using the classification in 2015, and effectively bans an organization outright.

"The Foundation carries out work on a Hollywood scale aimed at discrediting Russia," the Prosecutor General's Office said on the Telegram messaging app, without providing evidence.

"It actively supports false patriots who have left the country."

It added that "under the guise of humanitarian ideas," the organisation promotes initiatives for the criminal prosecution of Moscow's top leadership and publicly disseminates negative assessments of Russian legislation on foreign agents and NGOs.

The Clooney Foundation for Justice did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

In addition to non-profit organizations, Russia's 'undesirable' list includes media outlets, political, cultural and religious groups that Moscow claims are threat to the country's security.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)

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