Russia files lawsuit to close down one of oldest human rights groups - court

The Moscow Helsinki Group was founded by a team of Soviet dissidents - scientists and human rights activists - in 1976 in order to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with an East-West agreement meant to usher in a period of detente. From 1996 until her death in 2018, the Moscow Helsinki Group in Russia was chaired by the well-known Soviet and Russian human rights defender Lyudmila Alekseeva.

Russia's Ministry of Justice has filed a lawsuit to close down the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the country's oldest human rights organisations, a Moscow court website showed on Tuesday.

The group, which traces its history back to the Soviet period, produces an annual report on the human rights situation inside Russia. It was not immediately clear on what grounds the authorities were seeking to shutter the group, but the online Novaya Gazeta news outlet said the move resulted from a spot check on the organisation's activities ordered by state prosecutors.

The group renounced foreign funding in 2012 in order to avoid being labelled "a foreign agent" under a law that makes life hard for organisations that receive foreign funds. The Moscow Helsinki Group was founded by a team of Soviet dissidents - scientists and human rights activists - in 1976 in order to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with an East-West agreement meant to usher in a period of detente.

From 1996 until her death in 2018, the Moscow Helsinki Group in Russia was chaired by the well-known Soviet and Russian human rights defender Lyudmila Alekseeva.