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The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International
as an “undesirable organization,” a label that under a 2015 law
makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.
The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s office,
announced in an online statement, is the latest in the
unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and
activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow
invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The designation means the international human rights group must
stop any work in Russia and it subjects those who cooperate with
it or support it to prosecution.
Russia's list of “undesirable organizations” currently covers
223 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and
rights groups.
Amnesty International was launched in 1961. The group documents
and reports human rights violations across the globe and
campaigns for release of those it deems unjustly imprisoned. It
has released reports on Russia's war in Ukraine, accusing Moscow
of crimes against humanity, and has spoke out against the
Kremlin's crackdown on dissent that has swept up thousands of
people in recent years.
The Prosecutor General's office in their statement on Monday
accused the group of running “Russophobic projects" and
activities aimed at Russia's “political and economic isolation.”
Amnesty International did not immediately comment on the move.
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