Russia’s Justice Ministry announced that at least 196 people are actively involved in the International Memorial movement, which the Supreme Court has designated an extremist organization.
Those individuals “not only actively participate in the movement’s activities, but also receive funding, including from foreign organizations,” the ministry stated.
Russia’s Supreme Court designated the International Memorial movement an extremist organization on April 9. The court said Memorial’s activities were “clearly anti-Russian in character, aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of Russian statehood, violating territorial integrity, and undermining historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values.”
No single unified “Memorial movement” exists — dozens of human rights organizations in various countries operate under that name, often with no legal connection to one another. Russia’s Supreme Court has previously designated nonexistent organizations extremist as well, among them the “International LGBT Movement” and the “International Satanist Movement.” Such designations allow security officials to prosecute activists on the broadest possible grounds.
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