Russia’s Supreme Court on April 9 declared the “International Memorial Social Movement” an “extremist” organization and banned its activities in the country. The case was brought by the Justice Ministry. The hearing was held behind closed doors under secrecy, and lawyer Leonid Solovyov was not allowed to review the lawsuit in advance, then was barred from the proceedings and removed from the courtroom.
Formally, the court outlawed a structure that rights defenders say does not exist. However, the ruling may affect real Memorial projects and the people who cooperate with them. After the decision was announced, Memorial Human Rights Defense Center said it was hard to imagine a more absurd accusation than extremism.
For many years, Memorial worked on documenting Soviet repression, assisting political prisoners, and recording human rights violations. In 2022, it received the Nobel Peace Prize. In recent years, Russian authorities dissolved key parts of the network and added them to the “foreign agent” and “undesirable” registries.
“No organization with this name exists. We do not even know what this fiction is accused of,” Memorial Human Rights Defense Center said.
After the hearing, the Justice Ministry said it had counted 196 participants in the movement, but did not disclose which individuals or legal entities it meant. The ministry claimed the movement threatened the foundations of the constitutional order, security, and historical, cultural, and moral values. It also pointed to Memorial’s practice of recognizing some people convicted in terrorism cases as political prisoners.
Human rights defender Alexander Cherkasov told Novaya-Europe that pressure on Memorial was part of a broader militarization and preparation for war. In his view, the ruling creates grounds to prosecute any organizations, participants, or supporters linked to the Memorial name without having to prove specific actions.
After the court’s decision, Memorial Human Rights Defense Center announced it was ending its work in Russia. The organization warned that almost any interaction with it inside the country could now be risky, although it said its work would continue outside Russia.