On Friday, Russian authorities declared Human Rights Watch as an “undesirable organization.” This designation, under a law enacted in 2015, criminalizes any involvement with such groups.
This ruling compels the international human rights group to cease all operations in Russia and subjects anyone aiding or associating with the organization to potential legal action.
The Russian prosecutor general’s office made this decision as part of an ongoing and intensifying suppression of Kremlin critics, journalists, and activists. This crackdown has notably escalated since Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Additionally, on Friday, the prosecutor’s office announced it is pursuing a case against the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, aiming to classify the group as an extremist organization.
In a related development on Thursday, Russia’s Supreme Court labeled the Anti-Corruption Foundation, established by the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, as a terrorist group. This ruling specifically targets the foundation’s U.S.-registered branch, which became the center of the organization after the original foundation was declared “undesirable” by Russian authorities in 2021.
“It is inevitable that more organizations will soon be branded as ‘terrorists,’ including independent media, human rights projects, and local initiatives,” the foundation remarked in a statement.
“This is a political strategy used by the Russian authorities: to declare anyone who interferes with their theft and endless war an enemy of the state.”
Russia’s list of “undesirable organizations” currently covers more than 275 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups. Among those are prominent news organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, think tanks like Chatham House, anti-corruption group Transparency International, and environmental advocacy organization WWF.
Founded in 1978, Human Rights Watch monitors and researches human rights violations in countries across the world. It has been outspoken in its opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recently published an investigation into Russian forces using drones to deliberately chase, injure and kill civilians living in Ukraine’s Kherson region.
