Charges against Russian Community Council of USA's head is McCarthyism-style 'witch hunt' - Russian embassy to U.S

MOSCOW. March 9 (Interfax) - The Russian embassy to the United States has commented on the charges of acting as an unregistered Russian agent in the United Sates, which have been brought against Elena Branson, head of the Russian Community Council of the USA, and has described the situation as a witch hunt conducted in the worst traditions of McCarthyism.

"On March 8, the U.S. Department of Justice charged head of the Russian Community Council of the USA Elena Branson with allegedly illegal acting as a Russian agent. These claims are outrageous and completely unfounded. This is an element of the massive anti-Russian campaign, which resembles a witch hunt in the worst traditions of McCarthyism," the embassy said in a press release on Facebook.

The Russian embassy views the prosecution of Branson as a hostile act. "By doing so, the United States denies people with Russian origins the right to stay in touch with the homeland and to take active part in the preservation of cultural and language legacy," the embassy said.

The Russian stance on the egregious cases of harassment of compatriots has been repeatedly relayed to the U.S. authorities, yet officials continue to ignore the calls for the provision of basic rights of the Russian community, including those enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the embassy said. "In fact, this is a flagrant violation of personal freedoms in the country that aspires to be called 'a stronghold of democracy'," it said.

The diplomats demanded that the U.S. authorities stop persecution of Russian compatriots. "Let them freely speak their native, Russian language, maintain contacts with the homeland, and implement cultural and historical projects, especially those that connect the glorious past of Russia and the United States," the embassy said.