03/11/2016 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 3 November, the EU said that it expected the authorities in Russia to urgently review the case involving the sealing off of the Moscow premises of Amnesty International (AI) and to guarantee unhindered access for AI personnel to their offices. On Wednesday AI employees discovered that their office locks had been changed by the Moscow authorities, thereby effectively preventing staff from entering. “We are in contact with Amnesty International, both at their European HQ and in Moscow, who maintain that the reasons [for this sealing off] provided by the Moscow authorities are wholly inaccurate”, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated. According to the Moscow authorities, the NGO had failed to pay its rent for a significant period of time. The EEAS spokesperson pointed out that “Amnesty International, along with all other human rights organisations, must not be prevented from carrying out their important work". (CG)