Russian Supreme Court declines Justice Ministry lawsuit seeking closure of Memorial
MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax) - The Russian Justice Ministry has declined the Justice Ministry's lawsuit seeking the closure of the human rights society Memorial due to irregularities found in earlier inspections, an Interfax correspondent has reported, citing a decision made by Justice Alla Nazarova, which was read on Wednesday.
A Justice Ministry official earlier said Memorial had corrected all violations that led to the lawsuit seeking its closure.
In September 2014, the Justice Ministry filed a motion with the Supreme Court seeking the Memorial society's liquidation because of the irregularities found in its activities, particularly in its structure.
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Ella Pamfilova spoke in defense of Memorial. She asked President Vladimir Putin to exercise his authority to make sure that the motion on Memorial's closure be withdrawn.
A Justice Ministry official told the court on Wednesday that Memorial had corrected all violations that led to the lawsuit seeking its closure.
Memorial specializes, in particular, in matters related to the rehabilitation of victims of Stalin-era reprisals and educational programs. The society includes the Memorial center monitoring human rights in the North Caucasus, which was earlier put on the register of nonprofit organizations acting as foreign agents in Russia.