Russia's Supreme Court has effectively criminalized the activities of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Memorial, ruling on a Justice Ministry petition to designate the organization as extremist and ban its operations. The closed-door hearing on Tuesday granted the Justice Ministry's request to label 'the Memorial international civic movement' as extremist, according to multiple reports. The designation exposes anyone involved with Memorial to criminal prosecution and long prison terms.
Memorial responded by stating that no such entity as 'the Memorial international civic movement' exists, but that the ruling would allow authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, participants, and supporters. The organization said the decision effectively outlaws all its activities in Russia. The extremist designation means that anyone involved with Memorial could face criminal prosecution and long prison sentences.
There is no such entity but the ruling still 'would allow the authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, their participants and supporters.'
Memorial, founded in the late 1980s, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for its work documenting Soviet-era repression and human rights abuses. It had already faced severe crackdowns: Russian courts ordered its two main entities to shut down in December 2021, and it had been declared a 'foreign agent' and ordered to pay massive fines.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the ruling, calling it 'an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression' and urged Russia to cease all harassment of Memorial and its members. Despite the ban, Memorial members have sought to continue operations abroad. In 2023, they founded an international Memorial association in Geneva. However, earlier this year, that association was banned in Russia as 'undesirable'.
An affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression
The exact legal basis for the court's ruling remains unclear, given Memorial's claim that the entity named in the petition does not exist. It is also uncertain how many individuals associated with Memorial could face prosecution under the extremist designation, and whether the group can maintain any operations inside Russia.
Cease all harassment of Memorial and its members.