Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

 comes with the worrying news that on 29 August 2014, Russia added two more prominent human rights groups, the Institute for Freedom of Information and Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint-Petersburg to the list of ‘foreign agents’, which now includes 13 NGOs operating in the Russia. Both human rights groups were previously inspected by the authorities and received official notices from the Prosecutor of illegal activity, for carrying out “political activities” and receiving foreign funding without being registered as foreign agents.

[Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint-Petersburg defends the rights of conscripts and soldiers. The Institute for Freedom of Information Development Foundation (IFIDF) is campaigns for transparency in government. Moreover, the wife of Ivan Pavlov, Chairperson of IFIDF, was forced to leave Russia after the Federal Migration Service cancelled her residence permit on 5 August 2014].

for more information see: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/26677 and https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/files/fld_note_on_constitutional_court_ruling_on_foreign_agent_law_-_april_2014.pdf.

for previous post on this blog about the foreign agents law, see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/foreign-agent/

This entry was posted on September 2, 2014 at 12:13 and is filed under Front Line, Human Rights Defenders.

Tags: Civil society, foreign agent law, foreign agents, foreign funding, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), human rights groups, Institute for Freedom of Information, judicial harasment, Russia, Soldiers' Mothers of Saint-Petersburg