1421st Meeting of the Committee of Ministers (12 January 2022)
- The European Union is deeply concerned about the decisions by two Russian courts to forcibly close International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Center. For more than three decades, Memorial has fulfilled a unique role in documenting historical crimes and recovering for posterity the memory of the tens of millions of victims of political repression. Memorial has also advocated tirelessly for the protection of human rights in Russia, where its work includes exposing appalling abuses, including in the North Caucasus, and maintaining a growing list of individuals it considers to be political prisoners. The claim by Russian authorities that Memorial Human Rights Center’s principled and peaceful work “justifies extremism and terrorism” cannot be accepted. Memorial’s work has never been more needed.
- The decision to close Memorial is yet another case of the use by Russia of the so-called “foreign agents” law to limit the space for independent thought and critical debates. As stated by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the liquidation of Memorial marks a dark day for civil society in the Russian Federation.
- On 29 December, the European Court of Human Rights decided to indicate to the Government of Russia, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, that the enforcement of the decisions to dissolve Memorial should be suspended until the Court takes a further decision. We expect Russia to fully respect the interim measure granted by the Court, in line with its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
- The EU continues to condemn the Russian legislation on “foreign agents” that runs counter to Russia’s international human rights law obligations. As the Secretary General of the Council of Europe stated, it is highly regrettable that the Russian authorities have ignored repeated calls by the Organization to reconsider the “foreign agents” law and rejected its offer to review legislation in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. We once again urge the Russian authorities to stop the crackdown on civil society and independent media, to review current legislation in order to bring it in line with its obligations under the Convention and to avail itself of the relevant opinions of the Venice Commission.
- We continue to follow closely the situation of Yuri Dmitriev, a respected historian known for his human rights work and his research on political repression in the Soviet period and Chairman of the Karelia branch of Memorial Historical Society. On 27 December, the Petrozavodsk City Court extended Mr Dmitriev’s sentence of imprisonment from 13 to 15 years. We reiterate our concerns about Mr Dmitriev’s continuing imprisonment based on spurious charges, which we see connected to his work as historian and human rights defender. We reiterate our call on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr Dmitriev.
