Nobel Prize Committee condemns Russian move to criminalise rights group

Memorial was co-winner of 2022 Peace Prize for its work in documenting human rights abuses in Russia.The committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize has condemned attempts by Moscow to designate the human rights group and Peace Prize laureate Memorial as an “extremist organisation”.The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, said in a statement on Wednesday that it was “deeply alarmed by the Russian authorities’ latest attempts to destroy Memorial – a co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize – by seeking to designate [it] as an extremist organisation”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia jails former Kursk governor in Ukraine incursion-linked graft probelist 2 of 3Ukraine, Russia kill several civilians in tit-for-tat attackslist 3 of 3Russia confirms 16 Cameroonian soldiers killed in Ukraine warend of listThe statement was issued as Russia’s Supreme Court is expected to examine a petition from the Ministry of Justice on Thursday to add Memorial to Russia’s list of “undesirable” entities.The designation would ban the organisation from operating in Russia, with those affiliated with it could face up to four years in prison and fines.Memorial has already been declared a “foreign agent”, and the Supreme Court ordered it dissolved in Russia at the end of 2021.Frydnes stressed that if the latest petition by the Justice Ministry is upheld, “all activities of Memorial will be criminalised. Anyone taking part in, or funding, Memorial’s work – or even sharing its published materials – will risk imprisonment.”“To designate such an organisation as extremist is an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression,” he added.The committee called “on the Russian authorities to immediately withdraw this claim and to cease all harassment of Memorial and its members”.Memorial won the Nobel Peace Prize with the Ukrainian human rights organisation Centre for Civil Liberties and Ales Bialiatski, who has worked to promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. Memorial, established in 1987, focuses on documenting human rights abuses in Russia.