• Latest
  • Trending
Russia to Answer for its ‘Foreign Agent’ Law in European Court of Human Rights

Russia to Answer for its ‘Foreign Agent’ Law in European Court of Human Rights

October 7, 2017
U.S. attack on the Capitol: The “Bud Light Putsch”, a watershed moment for America?

U.S. attack on the Capitol: The “Bud Light Putsch”, a watershed moment for America?

January 18, 2021
How Israel’s Likud Party played the long game toward annexation of the West Bank

How Israel’s Likud Party played the long game toward annexation of the West Bank

January 11, 2021
How the Capitol riot exposed our national security blind spots

How the Capitol riot exposed our national security blind spots

January 11, 2021
‘Good riddance,’ says China as Germany leaves UN Security Council

‘Good riddance,’ says China as Germany leaves UN Security Council

December 23, 2020
Indonesian police needs reforms, urgently & not just in Papua

Indonesian police needs reforms, urgently & not just in Papua

December 13, 2020
Chinese honey trap operation?

Chinese honey trap operation?

December 11, 2020
Bali’s villa dream or just another nightmare?

Bali’s villa dream or just another nightmare?

December 5, 2020
When the going gets tough, the tough gets Ramen!

When the going gets tough, the tough gets Ramen!

November 28, 2020
Giuliani attends Pennsylvania GOP meeting on alleged election issues

Giuliani attends Pennsylvania GOP meeting on alleged election issues

November 28, 2020
Biden: ‘They are back’ !

Biden: ‘They are back’ !

November 28, 2020
Zac Efron splits from Vanessa Valladares

Zac Efron splits from Vanessa Valladares

November 28, 2020
Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from legal team

Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from legal team

November 23, 2020
citizendaily
  • Asia News
    • Northeast Asia
      • China
      • Japan
    • North Korea
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • South Asia
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia
      • Indonesia
      • Malaysia
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Europe
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
    • Latin America
      • Cuba
      • Mexico
    • Middle East
      • Gulf States
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Syria
    • North America
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Russian Federation
  • Economy
    • Brexit
    • Free Market
  • Politics
    • ASEAN
    • Diplomacy
    • ISIS
    • National Defence & Security
  • Editorial
  • Environment
    • Climate Change
    • Forests
    • Water & Oceans
    • Wildlife & Endangered Species
  • Lifestyle
    • Books & Literature
    • Entertainment
    • Food & Dining
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Tech
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Monday, January 18, 2021
  • Asia News
    • Northeast Asia
      • China
      • Japan
    • North Korea
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • South Asia
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia
      • Indonesia
      • Malaysia
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Europe
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
    • Latin America
      • Cuba
      • Mexico
    • Middle East
      • Gulf States
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Syria
    • North America
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Russian Federation
  • Economy
    • Brexit
    • Free Market
  • Politics
    • ASEAN
    • Diplomacy
    • ISIS
    • National Defence & Security
  • Editorial
  • Environment
    • Climate Change
    • Forests
    • Water & Oceans
    • Wildlife & Endangered Species
  • Lifestyle
    • Books & Literature
    • Entertainment
    • Food & Dining
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Tech
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
citizendaily
No Result
View All Result

Russia to Answer for its ‘Foreign Agent’ Law in European Court of Human Rights

October 7, 2017
in Europe, Featured, National Defense & Security, Politics
0
Home World News Europe
Post Views: 457

 

Russia’s Justice Ministry is finally ready to offer a defense of its “foreign agent” law which says the 2012 legislation has actually been good for the country’s non-profit sector, and doesn’t differ from similar laws imposed on NGOs by the West.

The 130-page written response comes in answer to a suit filed by 62 Russian non-profits before the European Court of Human Rights, which seeks to overturn restrictions aimed at civil society groups in Russia that accept foreign money.

The case has ground on for nearly a year as Russia’s Justice Ministry has asked for extensions to answer the suit. But lawyers representing the non-profit plaintiffs said Wednesday they have finally received the thrust of the Ministry’s argument.

RelatedPosts

China re-elected to UNHRC; US slams United Nations for electing ‘authoritarian regimes’

Indonesia: EU Palm Oil Restrictions Are ‘Act of Trade War’

Amnesty: Asia Seeing Growing Repression, Youth-led Resistance

Palm oil free campaign, EU camouflage strengthens vegetable oil market

Kashmir siege: Man with cancer jailed, family fears for his life

“Essentially, they are saying the law has been a positive thing,” said Maria Kanevskaya, a lawyer with the non-profit Jurists Club, which is representing the NGOs before the court in Strasbourg, France.

The Ministry further argues that countries like the United States and Germany have similar laws on the books to monitor the activities of groups that receive international funding.

Russian NGOs will, of course, disagree, and Kanevskaya has until January 16 to present her arguments to the court.

The initial legislation, brought into force when Russian President Vladimir Putin faced unprecedented nationwide street protests, targets non-profits that receive even small amounts of funding from outside.

The groups are examined for suspected “political activity,” and are branded by the Justice Ministry as “foreign agents,” a laden term that Russians unquestioningly associate with espionage. The ministry then publicized the list and forces groups to advertise their foreign agent status.

The debate over what, in fact, constitutes political activity has raged since the law took effect, and non-profits charged before the European Court that the term is intentionally elastic and gets applied to anyone the government doesn’t like.

The law’s repercussions have been staggering. By 2015, as the law neared its third birthday, it had forced the closure of more than a third of the NGOs operating in Russia, one of which was Bellona Murmansk. The Environmental Rights Center Bellona followed earlier this year.

Environmental groups have taken a disproportionate fall as a result of the law. In nearly every case, they are charged with political activity for ordinary acts of environmental advocacy, often in cooperation with state institutions and industries.

Both of Bellona’s Russian offices were said to be acting politically simply for trying to influence public opinion on environmental matters – a charge familiar to most of the NGOs currently involved in the suit at the European Court of Human Rights.

Ecodefence, a Russian anti-nuclear group, and one of the main plaintiffs in the case, was told its protests of a nuclear power plant build in Kaliningrad amounted to anti-government activity.

The European Court of Human Rights now wants Russia’s Justice Ministry to describe on what criteria it names foreign agents, and how it determines the dooming notion of political activity. As Russia has signed on to the European Convention of Human Rights, the court could conceivably demand that Moscow strike down the law.

But Kanevskaya said the Justice Ministry is turning back to some shopworn arguments to defend the law.

“They say that the law doesn’t violate the European Convention, and that Europe and the United States have restrictive legislation on foreign financing as well,” she said.

America’s Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 has been a favorite trope of the Ministry in justifying Russia’s legislation. The act, which was conceived to choke funding for Nazi propaganda, has been since used only to reveal, though not restrict or prevent, lobbying by foreign governments.

Even then, the burden of proving a group is acting at the behest of foreign interests is on the US government – which Kanevskaya noted is not the case in Russia.

She said the foreign agent designation amounted essentially to a death sentence for affected NGOs.

“At practically any moment, the government can liquidate an NGO by calling it a foreign agent,” she said.

Once an NGO is on the foreign agent list, she said, the Ministry can essentially bleed it out of existence with a steady flow of fines and court battles to clear its name.

Despite the suit, Most NGO leaders in Russia are not actually expecting that a favorable ruling by the European Court would make much difference. In 2015, Putin signed legislation that allows the country’s Constitutional Court to throw out any decisions the European Court might hand down.

Tags: ‘Foreign Agent’ LawEuropean Courthuman rightsNGORussia’s Justice Ministry
Previous Post

Indonesia, Norway Commit to Assure Sea Healthiness

Next Post

US Gun Lobby Agrees to Examine ‘Bump Stocks’ After Las Vegas Massacre

Related Posts

How Israel’s Likud Party played the long game toward annexation of the West Bank
Commentary

How Israel’s Likud Party played the long game toward annexation of the West Bank

January 11, 2021
How the Capitol riot exposed our national security blind spots
Bilateral

How the Capitol riot exposed our national security blind spots

January 11, 2021
‘Good riddance,’ says China as Germany leaves UN Security Council
Asia News

‘Good riddance,’ says China as Germany leaves UN Security Council

December 23, 2020
Indonesian police needs reforms, urgently & not just in Papua
ASEAN

Indonesian police needs reforms, urgently & not just in Papua

December 13, 2020
Chinese honey trap operation?
Asia News

Chinese honey trap operation?

December 11, 2020
Bali’s villa dream or just another nightmare?
ASEAN

Bali’s villa dream or just another nightmare?

December 5, 2020
Next Post
US Gun Lobby Agrees to Examine ‘Bump Stocks’ After Las Vegas Massacre

US Gun Lobby Agrees to Examine 'Bump Stocks' After Las Vegas Massacre

Translate

Subscription

Popular Post

U.S. attack on the Capitol: The “Bud Light Putsch”, a watershed moment for America?
Asia News

U.S. attack on the Capitol: The “Bud Light Putsch”, a watershed moment for America?

January 18, 2021
0

  The events in the U.S. capitol, nicknamed by the far-left groups as the “Bud Light putsch” of the “Fascist...

Read more

NGOs call for mass boycott of palm oil giant IOI

June 29, 2016
No peace for Greenpeace

No peace for Greenpeace

July 1, 2016

The Case Against Greenpeace

July 1, 2016
Children in ISIS Nusantara Media Outreach

Children in ISIS Nusantara Media Outreach

July 2, 2016
  • About Us
  • Creative Commons
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

Topics

Follow Us

About Us

citizendaily.news is part of the citizen Daily Media Group LLC, which delivers daily news around the globe. ​

© 2012 The Citizen Daily

No Result
View All Result
  • Asia News
    • Northeast Asia
      • China
      • Japan
    • North Korea
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • South Asia
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia
      • Indonesia
      • Malaysia
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Europe
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
    • Latin America
      • Cuba
      • Mexico
    • Middle East
      • Gulf States
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Syria
    • North America
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Russian Federation
  • Economy
    • Brexit
    • Free Market
  • Politics
    • ASEAN
    • Diplomacy
    • ISIS
    • National Defence & Security
  • Editorial
  • Environment
    • Climate Change
    • Forests
    • Water & Oceans
    • Wildlife & Endangered Species
  • Lifestyle
    • Books & Literature
    • Entertainment
    • Food & Dining
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Tech
  • Sports

© 2012 The Citizen Daily