Accessibility links

Breaking News

Watchdog

A gay-rights organization in St. Petersburg has been fined for refusing to register as "a foreign agent.''

A court fined the Vykhod (Coming Out) organization 500,000 rubles ($15,600) for not obeying the recently adopted law requiring nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in political activity to register as foreign agents.

Vykhod's lawyer, Dmitry Bartenev, says he will appeal the court decision, saying the organization is not involved in political activities.

On June 18, a court in Moscow fined the chairwoman of Moscow-based Civic Collaboration Committee, Svetlana Gannushkina, for failing to turn over papers related to the financial activities of her organization because investigators want to determine if her organization should be considered a foreign agent.

Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS
Jailed opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev
Jailed opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev
Russian opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has been presented with the final charges against him by investigators.

Razvozzhayev was brought from a Moscow detention center to the Investigative Committee’s headquarters on June 19.

He was officially charged with the preparation of and participation in mass unrest and illegal border crossing.

Razvozzhayev was arrested in October for his alleged role in organizing violent demonstrations in May 2012 on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, which investigators say was orchestrated by a Georgian politician.

Razvozzhayev has said Russian authorities abducted him from Ukraine in October, brought him back to Russia, and used torture to force him to confess.

Investigators deny that happened, saying Razvozzhayev used his brother's travel documents to leave Russia for Ukraine in mid-October and later returned to Moscow by taxi.


Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and RIA Novosti

Load more

About This Blog

"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Subscribe

Journalists In Trouble

RFE/RL journalists take risks, face threats, and make sacrifices every day in an effort to gather the news. Our "Journalists In Trouble" page recognizes their courage and conviction, and documents the high price that many have paid simply for doing their jobs. More

XS
SM
MD
LG