Russia bans Human Rights Watch in widening crackdown on critics

Authorities also designate Anti-Corruption Foundation as ‘terrorist’ group and consider total ban on WhatsApp.Published On 29 Nov 2025Russian authorities have outlawed Human Rights Watch as an “undesirable organisation”, a label that, under a 2015 law, makes involvement with it a criminal offence.Friday’s designation means the international human rights group must stop all work in Russia, and opens those who cooperate with or support the organisation to prosecution.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,374list 2 of 4Putin says US-backed peace plan as framework is OK ‘in general’list 3 of 4Putin says ready to guarantee no Russian attack on Europelist 4 of 4Finland FM on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and Trump’s potential roleend of listHRW has repeatedly accused Russia of suppressing dissenters and committing war crimes during its ongoing war against Ukraine.“For over three decades, Human Rights Watch’s work on post-Soviet Russia has pressed the government to uphold human rights and freedoms,” the executive director at Human Rights Watch, Philippe Bolopion, said in a statement.“Our work hasn’t changed, but what’s changed, dramatically, is the government’s full-throttled embrace of dictatorial policies, its staggering rise in repression, and the scope of the war crimes its forces are committing in Ukraine.”The decision by the Russian prosecutor general’s office is the latest move in a crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists, which has intensified since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.In a separate statement on Friday, the office said it was opening a case against Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot that would designate the group as an “extremist” organisation.Separately, Russia’s Supreme Court designated on Thursday the Anti-Corruption Foundation set up by the late opposition activist Alexey Navalny as a “terrorist” group.The ruling targeted the foundation’s United States-registered entity, which became the focal point for the group when the original Anti-Corruption Foundation was designated an “undesirable organisation” by the Russian government in 2021.