Brussels, 23/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 23 October, MEPs strongly condemned the Russian Ministry of Justice's appeal to the Supreme Court to close down the human rights organisation Memorial, the 2009 Sakharov prize-winner. In a joint resolution (adopted by 529 votes in favour, 57 against and 34 abstentions), they therefore call on “the Ministry of Justice to withdraw its lawsuit before the scheduled hearing” planned on 13 November 2014. They state that “Memorial plays a crucial role in the development of democratic values and the promotion of human rights in Russia”. Criticising the law on 'foreign agents' adopted in July 2012, the Parliament calls on the Russian authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment, including judicial, directed against human rights campaigners in Russia, and to guarantee that they can carry out their legitimate activities in all circumstances and without interference.
In its resolution, the MEPs call on the EU high representative and the European External Action Service to ensure that the cases of all those persecuted for political reasons are raised in meetings with their Russian counterparts. The MEPs also want the EU to continue to cooperate with Russian civil society organisations in all circumstances and to increase financial aid for them.
“We call for a Russia that is just, fair and democratic”, said Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands) during a debate before the vote. “Everything must be done for Memorial to be able to continue”, said Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg (S&D, Poland). Recalling that Memorial was celebrating 25 years of activity, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (EPP, Poland) underlined the “remarkable” success of the organisation and that it was unacceptable to eliminate an NGO such as this. (CG)