Human rights group Amnesty effectively banned in Russia
MoscowcTypeface:> Russia has declared the human rights group Amnesty International an undesirable organization, effectively banning its work in the country.
The Prosecutor General's Office in Moscow announced on Monday that the organization was a 'centre for preparing global Russophobic projects, paid for by henchmen of the Kiev regime.' Amongst other things, the authorities accuse Amnesty of exacerbating the military confrontation in the region since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Being classified as an undesirable organization is tantamount to a ban in Russia. Amnesty International is one of the world's best-known human rights groups. It repeatedly accuses Moscow of war crimes in Ukraine and of oppressing dissidents.
Russia has declared numerous institutions to be undesirable organizations since it launched its war of aggression in Ukraine. (DPA)
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M23 accused of possible ‘war crimes' in eastern DRC: Rights group
M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have committed serious abuses against civilians, 'including torture, killings and enforced disappearances', in areas under their control, according to Amnesty International. 'These acts violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,' Amnesty said in a statement on Tuesday. The allegations come amid a renewed surge in violence that erupted in January, when the Rwandan-backed M23 group captured the strategic city of Goma in North Kivu province. The rebels went on to seize Bukavu in South Kivu in February, escalating a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands. Between February and April, Amnesty researchers spoke to 18 people who had been detained by M23 in Goma and Bukavu. Many said they were held on accusations of supporting the Congolese army or government – claims for which no proof was presented. Several were not told why they were being held. According to Amnesty, detainees were crammed into overcrowded, unhygienic cells, lacking adequate food, water, sanitation and medical care. Some of those interviewed said they saw fellow prisoners die due to these conditions or from acts of torture. Witnesses described gruesome scenes, including two detainees being bludgeoned to death with hammers and another shot dead on the spot. All of the former detainees said they were either tortured or saw others being tortured with wooden sticks, electric cables or engine belts, the rights group said. Relatives searching for the missing were often turned away by M23 fighters, who denied the detainees were being held – actions Amnesty says amount to enforced disappearances. 'M23's public statements about bringing order to eastern DRC mask their horrific treatment of detainees. They brutally punish those who they believe oppose them and intimidate others, so no one dares to challenge them,' said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's regional director for East and Southern Africa. 'Regional and international actors must pressure Rwanda to cease its support for M23,' added Chagutah. The United Nations and DRC's government say Rwanda has supported M23 by providing arms and sending troops – an accusation Kigali denies. The UN estimates that about 4,000 Rwandan soldiers support M23. M23 is among roughly 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern DRC, a region rich in minerals and bordering Rwanda. The ongoing conflict has driven more than seven million people from their homes, including 100,000 who fled this year alone. Despite recent pledges by the Congolese army and the rebels to seek a truce, clashes have continued. M23 previously threatened to advance as far as the capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) away. In April, Rwanda and DRC agreed to draft a peace deal by May 2, committing to respect each other's sovereignty and refraining from providing military support to armed groups.
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Human rights group Amnesty effectively banned in Russia
MoscowcTypeface:> Russia has declared the human rights group Amnesty International an undesirable organization, effectively banning its work in the country. The Prosecutor General's Office in Moscow announced on Monday that the organization was a 'centre for preparing global Russophobic projects, paid for by henchmen of the Kiev regime.' Amongst other things, the authorities accuse Amnesty of exacerbating the military confrontation in the region since the start of the war in Ukraine. Being classified as an undesirable organization is tantamount to a ban in Russia. Amnesty International is one of the world's best-known human rights groups. It repeatedly accuses Moscow of war crimes in Ukraine and of oppressing dissidents. Russia has declared numerous institutions to be undesirable organizations since it launched its war of aggression in Ukraine. (DPA)
Al Jazeera
19-05-2025
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Moscow outlaws Amnesty International for ‘Russophobia' amid Ukraine war
Russian authorities have designated Amnesty International as an 'undesirable' organisation, alleging that the rights group propagates pro-war content backed by the Western allies of Ukraine, in the latest crackdown on Kremlin critics. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement on Monday that Amnesty's London office has acted as a 'centre for the preparation of global Russophobic projects paid for by accomplices of the Kyiv regime', according to state-run media. It claimed that since the start of the war in February 2022, Amnesty has been 'doing everything possible to intensify the military confrontation in the region', including by 'insisting on the political and economic isolation of our country'. The office also emphasised that members of the international rights group 'support extremist organisations and finance the activities of foreign agents'. Amnesty did not immediately respond to the allegations. The designation means the international human rights group must stop any work in Russia, and those accused of cooperating with or supporting it will be exposed to criminal prosecution. This could even include anyone who shares Amnesty International's reports on social media. Russia currently recognises 223 entities as 'undesirable' organisations, including some prominent independent, as well as Western-backed news outlets and rights groups. Some of those include Transparency International, Latvia-based outlet Meduza, and US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Amnesty International was established in 1961 to document and report human rights violations around the globe and campaign for the release of those deemed unjustly imprisoned. The organisation won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, having been recognised 'for worldwide respect for human rights' and efforts to combat torture, advocate for prisoners of conscience, and promote global adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition to covering human rights violations during the Ukraine war, the group has documented massacres in the Gaza Strip and Israeli apartheid, as well as atrocities in Sudan and many other countries. Moscow has intensified its crackdown on human rights groups and civil society organisations as relations with the West plummeted over the Ukraine war and the expansion of NATO. This has included expanding the 'undesirable' and 'foreign agent' designations to shut down opposing voices, as well as the suppression of some minority groups' rights. The move on Monday came as US President Donald Trump was due to hold a phone call with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid efforts to end the fighting. The diplomatic efforts follow inconclusive direct talks, the first in three years, between delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Turkiye's Istanbul on Friday. The brief talks yielded only an agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners of war, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such exchange since the war began. A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said Russian negotiators demanded Kyiv pull its troops out of all its regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire. That is a red line for Ukraine, and as it stands, Russia does not have full control in those regions.
