Brussels, 21 December 2022
The Russian Justice Ministry has filed for a court order to shut down one of the country’s most respected human rights organisations, the Moscow Helsinki Group. This initiative is clearly politically motivated.
Since its foundation in 1976, the Moscow Helsinki Group has been working tirelessly to defend human rights under the leadership of such courageous persons as Yuri Orlov and Lyudmila Alexeyeva.
Russian authorities continue to disregard international and domestic commitments and obligations by systematically violating human rights and cracking down on journalists, human rights defenders and activists and closing down or blocking independent media. This trend of bulldozing and eliminating independent and critical voices has only accelerated after Russia launched its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.
The EU stands in solidarity with all victims of Russia’s human rights violations and will continue to support Russian human rights defenders both inside and outside Russia.
Source – EEAS