Russia slaps ‘foreign agent’ label on veteran rights group

The Russian government said Wednesday it had added a respected rights group to a register of “foreign agents,” a label slapped on organisations seen as political and receiving foreign funding.

The justice ministry said it had added the “For Human Rights” movement led by veteran rights campaigner Lev Ponomaryov to the register a day earlier.

Since the list was started in 2012, 69 groups have been added to it, ranging from HIV prevention NGOs to environmentalist organisations. This has led to many of the groups closing down.

The For Human Rights movement had previously won a court battle against the designation, which in Russian implies spying for a foreign government.

Ponomaryov, 77, told AFP he would not appeal against the latest decision, which he said was punishment for the group’s criticism of the security services, particularly over recent arrests of young Russians.

“They registered us as a foreign agent before, but we appealed. I don’t think we will appeal a second time,” he told AFP.

He added that despite government pressure and his recent arrest, he is still sought out as an expert by the human rights committee that advises President Vladimir Putin.

Ponomaryov was jailed for more than two weeks last year for a message he wrote on Facebook calling for people to take part in an unsanctioned rally.