“Memorial” could not become illiquid – Newspaper Kommersant No. 208 (7409) dated 11/10/2022

For the third time, the Memorial Human Rights Center failed to appeal against the earlier decision to liquidate it for a “systemic violation” of the law on foreign agents. The corresponding complaint was rejected by the panel of judges of the Second Cassation Court, which agreed with the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office and the Moscow Ministry of Justice.

The session of the Judicial Collegium of the Second Court of Cassation lasted about two and a half hours on Wednesday. During this time, not only the lawyers of Memorial Human Rights Center managed to speak, but also the prosecutors, as well as a representative of the Moscow Ministry of Justice. The former pointed out that it was impossible to liquidate the LC for several good reasons, their opponents – that all these reasons are unfounded.

Recall that in November 2021, the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office demanded the liquidation of the HRC for “systemic violation of the law on foreign agents”, in particular, the lack markings on books, website materials, and social media posts by Memorial, recognized as a foreign agent. The agency also pointed out the use of “inappropriate” wording when placing the label (for example, instead of “foreign agent” or “recognized as a foreign agent”, only indications of the norms of laws governing labeling requirements could be placed).

Neither the prosecutor’s office nor the Ministry of Justice explained, however, how verbatim the corresponding wording should sound and how exactly it should be placed in each public message on the net or in printed materials.

supervisory authority paid attentionthat the absence of foreign agency labeling in the materials of the human rights center carries a “risk for the development of children and harm to health” that can “cause a depressive state.” The prosecutors presented the court with the results of an expert examination, according to which the materials on Memorial’s website “found signs of justifying extremism.” Their experts identified in connection with the publication of lists of Russian political prisoners.

Memorial, on the other hand, assured, which eliminated all identified violations of labeling in 2018, 2019 and 2020, paying more than 4 million rubles. fines. Arguments that these violations, firstly, have been eliminated and cannot be grounds for re-punishment (in the form of liquidation), and secondly, “do not pose any public danger”, were voiced in the appeals and cassation complaints.

“Probably, no one will ever find out whether they are “the material of an NPO acting as a foreign agent” (from the lawsuit of the prosecutor’s office demanding liquidation.— “b”) merch, business cards, invitations to film screenings, statements about a crime, humanitarian aid,” says the statement of Memorial’s lawyers, made in connection with the filing of a complaint with the Second Cassation Court. organization, send on behalf of the NPO “material” without marking. The HRC received the last fine for non-marking for a letter to the Foreign Ministry, the existence of which I learned from the prosecutor’s office. The letter was sent by an employee from his personal mail, and during the liquidation, the prosecutor’s office blamed Memorial for the demonstrative violation of the labeling requirements.”

Organization liquidation violated the right to freedom of association and speech, lawyers Alexandra Baeva and Eva Korneichik insisted during the trial. They recalled the decision of the ECtHR dated June 14, 2022, in which Strasbourg acknowledged that the inclusion of Memorial in the register of NPOs-foreign agents in 2016 violated several articles of the Convention and, accordingly, the rights of human rights defenders in terms of freedom of association and expression. Both Ms. Korneichik and Ms. Baeva alternately reminded the court of “almost 30 years of work” of “Memorial” on cases of torture, kidnapping and murder of citizens, including on the territory of Chechnya.

“The courts rightly decided to liquidate Memorial,” one of the prosecutors said in turn. “The lack of marking creates a real threat and causes harm to society, since in this way the human rights center prevents proper control over its activities.”

“Against the satisfaction of the complaint,” Arseniy Sindetsky, an employee of the Ministry of Justice, also spoke briefly.

Judge Larisa Shelomanova retired for ten minutes and, returning, determined: “The complaint should be dismissed.” This means, Memorial’s lawyers explained to Kommersant, that the defense has only one option left to “exhaust” all means at the national level – to file a complaint against the decision on liquidation with the Supreme Court. “Most likely, justice will have to be sought outside the Russian Federation, in international courts,” suggested Alexandra Baeva.

As a reminder, on October 30, representatives of the International Memorial (also liquidated in December 2021 for violating foreign agency legislation) challenged in the ECtHR its liquidation. Memorial Human Rights Center has not yet exhausted all possibilities for protection at the national level, without which a complaint to Strasbourg is impossible. On the platform of the liquidated HRC “Memorial”, today the eponymous center for the protection of human rights operates, whose lawyers applied to the ECHR on behalf of the “International Memorial”.

Alexey Sviridov, Maria Starikova