Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Closed
PRAGUE, October 14, 2006 (RFE/RL) — Amnesty International has denounced the October 13 decision by a court in the Russian city of Nizhnii Novgorod to shut down the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS).
The RCFS monitors human rights in Chechnya.
An Amnesty International spokesperson said the decision appears to be “the latest move in a carefully calculated strategy to get rid of an organization that has been outspoken on behalf of victims of human rights violations in Chechnya.”
The court based its decision on a law that makes it illegal for a nongovernmental organization to be headed by a person convicted of “extremist” activities.
The executive director of the RCFS, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, was convicted in February for publishing articles by Chechen separatist leaders.
Amnesty International said the conviction violated Dmitrievsky’s peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
See also in this blog: Support Stanislav Dmitrievsky!
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