Council of Europe secretary general disappointed by Russian Justice Ministry's decision to include Memorial NGO in foreign agents list
MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax) - Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has criticized the Russian Justice Ministry's decision to put the Memorial non-governmental organization (NGO) on the register of NGOs acting as foreign agents.
"Today's decision by the Russian Justice Ministry to include the Moscow-based NGO International Historical and Human Rights Society 'Memorial' into the 'foreign agents registry' is deeply disappointing," Jagland said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Non-governmental organizations, especially those working in the area of civic education, are indispensable in any genuine democracy," he said.
"Branding NGOs as 'foreign agents' is discriminatory and should belong to the past," Jagland said.
"I once again call on the Russian authorities to abandon this practice which is detrimental to the development of civil sector in Russia," he said.
It had been reported earlier on Tuesday that the Justice Ministry had put the International Memorial NGO on the list of NGOs acting as foreign agents, following an inspection that uncovered the organization's funding from abroad and its involvement in political activities.