foreign agents did not say that they were acting in the interests of Russia – Kommersant

Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko said that those who challenged the status of a foreign agent in court did not say that they were acting in the interests of Russia and that they were against foreign influence. According to the minister, all foreign agents disputed the legal issues.

“I would like to draw attention to the fact that all plaintiffs refer to procedural issues. No one said that, sorry, you misjudged my activities, I am for Russia. I am against foreign interference. Everything I do serves the interests of Russia,” said Konstantin Chuychenko at the Derzhavin Readings.

According to the minister, many decisions on recognition as a foreign agent are appealed in the courts, but in the overwhelming majority of cases the courts support the position of the Ministry of Justice. “We have only two court decisions that did not agree with us, but nevertheless our decisions stood in subsequent instances,” the minister said.

According to the minister, recognition as a foreign agent does not mean being held accountable, therefore, when challenging this decision, the rules of the game from the field of administrative and criminal law do not apply. According to Konstantin Chuychenko, recognition as a foreign agent is nothing more than “granting a certain legal status” and “imposing certain behavioral conditions on a person.”

The minister argues that to be recognized as a foreign agent, it is only necessary to establish that the work of an organization or person “is carried out in the interests of foreign states, it is toxic, harmful to our state, to our society, nothing more.”

Currently, the register of foreign agents includes 719 people and organizations: journalists, artists, politicians, human rights activists, lawyers and rappers, including Oksimiron and Morgenstern. The chief editor of Novaya Gazeta and Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov challenged the status of a foreign agent in court, but the court refused to recognize the decision of the Ministry of Justice as illegal. The Ministry of Justice believes that Dmitry Muratov is a foreign agent, since he “spread an opinion” aimed at “forming a negative attitude” towards the policies of the Russian Federation.

More details in the material “Dmitry Muratov remained a foreign agent”.

Anastasia Larina