Week-ending 23 May 2025
“This decision is part of the Russian government’s broader effort to silence dissent and isolate civil society. In a country where scores of activists and dissidents have been imprisoned, killed or exiled, where independent media has been smeared, blocked or forced to self-censor, and where civil society organizations have been outlawed or liquidated, you must be doing something right if the Kremlin bans you. The authorities are deeply mistaken if they believe that by labelling our organization “undesirable” we will stop our work documenting and exposing human rights violations – quite the opposite. We will not give in to the threats and will continue undeterred to work to ensure that people in Russia are able to enjoy their human rights without discrimination. We will keep documenting and speaking worldwide about the war crimes committed in Ukraine by Russia. We will redouble our efforts to expose Russia’s egregious human rights violations both at home and abroad. We will never stop fighting for the release of prisoners of conscience detained for standing up for human rights or for the repeal of repressive laws that prevent people in Russia from speaking up against injustice. We will continue to work relentlessly to ensure that all those who are responsible for committing grave human rights violations, whether in Russia, Ukraine, or elsewhere, face justice. Put simply, no authoritarian assault will silence our fight for justice. Amnesty will never give up or back down in its fight for upholding human rights in Russia and beyond.”
– Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
– Source: ‘Russia: Amnesty International declared “undesirable organization” amid escalating crackdown on dissent’, Amnesty International, 19 May 2025
Background from Amnesty International: On 19 May 2025, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office declared Amnesty International an “undesirable organization” under repressive 2015 Russian legislation which allows the authorities to ban arbitrarily any foreign organization and criminalize its activities in Russia. The announcement accused Amnesty International of promoting “Russophobic projects” and indicated that it was prompted by the organization’s work on freedom of expression and association in Russia, and its documentation and exposition of crimes under international law committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. The decision is based on a Russian law which in itself violates international law, and the language of the decision goes against facts accusing Amnesty International of activities which, within its statutory documents and policies, it is prevented from undertaking. The designation comes three years after the Russian authorities blocked access to Amnesty International’s websites in Russia and de-registered – effectively closed down – the organization’s office in Moscow. The designation puts at risk of prosecution in Russia partner organizations and individual supporters, journalists, other persons who now work with, or are seen by the authorities as supporting or promoting, the organization.
“The creation of the Special Tribunal is a step towards addressing some of the far too many accountability gaps confronting the delivery of justice for Ukrainians. It should ensure that the crime of aggression is thoroughly investigated. However, immunity goes hand in hand with impunity. In Amnesty International’s view, pursuing accountability at the highest level of Russia’s and other states’ political and military leadership must be a paramount objective of the Tribunal. Consequently, any immunity provisions which are currently in the Tribunal’s draft legal framework must be urgently removed or risk compromising future justice for victims of aggression. The Tribunal must not shy away from seeking indictments against all those who ordered, planned and implemented the crime of aggression against the people of Ukraine, including those most responsible.”
– Veronika Velch, Director of Amnesty International Ukraine
– Source: ‘Ukraine: Establishment of the special tribunal for the crime of aggression must ensure victims-centered justice’, Amnesty International, 14 May 2025
Background from Amnesty International: The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists (the ICJ) and the undersigned organizations are encouraged by steps taken towards the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, although regrettably final details on the mechanism’s legal framework, including its Statute, have not been made public. In this regard, the organizations call on the Council of Europe to urgently publish the draft Statute of the Tribunal to ensure the transparent and inclusive participation of civil society, especially victims and survivors, as the Tribunal is established and, certainly, in its proceedings. The initiative to establish a Special Tribunal has been precipitated by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and the creation of the Special Tribunal is a significant step towards holding those responsible, up to the highest levels, for the crime of aggression. In its annual meeting held on 14 May in Luxembourg, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe invited the Organisation’s Secretary General to lead the process for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, to be created on the basis of an agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine.
‘Russian authorities should immediately suspend the discriminatory language testing requirement and instead design and implement accelerated Russian language programs for school-aged children through the government school system. Other governments should urge the Russian authorities to implement these measures.
– Syinat Sultanalieva, Researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division’
– Source: Syinat Sultanalieva, Researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division, Discriminatory Testing Blocks Migrant Children’s Right to Education in Russia, Human Rights Watch, 19 May 2025
Background from HRW: This week, Russia’s education and science supervision agency, Rosobrnadzor, reported that so far in 2025 only 335 children of migrants have been allowed to take the Russian language proficiency test, a new prerequisite for school enrolment. This means that just 19 percent of the 1,762 children who applied to take the test were allowed. A law prohibiting public schools from enrolling children of foreign nationals without proof of Russian language proficiency was adopted by the State Duma in December 2024 and has been in effect since April 1, 2025.
“This latest raid and criminal case against Russian broadcaster Bars and its editor-in-chief, Sergey Kustov, is a blatant act of intimidation and censorship. Russian authorities must stop using defamation laws and other criminal charges to silence journalists who report on matters of public interest and should immediately return all confiscated materials and stop harassing Kustov.”
– Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative.
– Source: ‘Russian authorities raid Bars TV station, editor’s home over defamation case, seize equipment,’ CPJ, 22 May 2025
Background from CPJ: Russian authorities must immediately cease their raids on the editorial office of Bars, a regional television broadcaster based in Ivanovo city, and the home of its editor-in-chief, Sergey Kustov, return all equipment and documents seized, and ensure that members of the media platform are not threatened with criminal charges over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
‘The FIDH observes and is concerned about this new attack on the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals in Russia, which is part of a global trend of shrinking LGBTQI+ rights and the rise of reactionary ideologies. It calls for increased, constant, and collective vigilance.’
– Source: ‘Russia cracks down on LGBTQI+ community, targeting books and publishers, FIDH, 21 May 2025
Background from FIDH: On Thursday, 15 May, 2025, the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow ordered the house arrest of three employees from the publishing houses Popcorn Books and Individuum. Around ten other employees had their homes searched. During these searches, law enforcement officers seized over a thousand copies of books accused of “promoting the LGBT movement, recognised as an extremist organisation“, under Article 282.2(1.1) of the Russian Criminal Code, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. This article prohibits “inciting, recruiting, or any other form of involving a person in the activities of an extremist organisation“, with a possible prison sentence of up to 12 years.
‘The Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the designation of Amnesty International as an “undesirable organisation”, which constitutes a blatant attempt to retaliate against the organisation for its leading role in promoting accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, and for its vocal stance on Russia’s crackdown against dissenting voices. It is also an attempt to further intimidate and punish Russian citizens cooperating with independent civil society organisations, and to further restrict the access of Russian nationals inside the country to independent and reliable information about Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Observatory urges the Russian authorities to immediately reverse the decision and to respect in all circumstances the right to freedom of association, ensuring that human rights organisations, including foreign and international NGOs, are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals. The Observatory also urges the international community to stand in solidarity with Amnesty International and all human rights defenders in Russia.’
– Source: ‘Russian Federation : Designation of Amnesty International as “undesirable organisation”, FIDH, 23 May 2025
Background from FIDH: The Observatory has been informed about the designation of Amnesty International, a renowned international human rights organisation, as an “undesirable organisation” by the Russian authorities. In the last years, Amnesty International has undertaken crucial work to document and ensure accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, and has taken a vocal stance on Russia’s crackdown on dissenting voices inside the country. On 19 May 2025, the Russian Prosecutor’s General Office announced that it had declared Amnesty International an “undesirable organisation”, accusing the organisation of being a “center for the preparation of global Russophobic projects” and “justifying the crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis”. The designation as “undesirable” effectively bans Amnesty International’s activities in Russia, exposing anyone affiliated with, supporting, or even disseminating information from the organisation to significant risks of administrative liability and prosecution. Previously, shortly after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the authorities had closed down Amnesty International’s Moscow Office, and blocked access to its website.
“Publishing content about the decadent West, Nazi Ukraine as NATO’s vassal, Russia as the strong protector, in clear attempts to saturate the information space, sew doubt, reverse the blame, and disseminate moral relativism… Under the guise of a neutral expert stance, this ‘entrepreneur of foreign influence’ deploys the full range of rhetoric and manipulation tactics developed by the Kremlin for its hybrid warfare. We call on reputable media outlets not to fall for the siren song of no-cost political analysis pieces that conceal a well-oiled strategy of fact distortion, disinformation, and opinion engineering to promote a criminal regime.”
– Arnaud Froger, Head of the RSF Investigation Desk
– Source: ‘Conquering minds: A deep dive into the media offensive of a France-based Russian propagandist,’ RSF. 19 May 2025
Background from RSF: While investigating the actors spreading Russian propaganda in the Sahel region of Africa, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) uncovered a mysterious Russian “expert” in Russian and Sub-Saharan affairs who has been living in France for nearly 30 years. Oleg Nesterenko not only zealously disseminates Russian narratives on social media but has managed to publish his propagandist analyses — filled with all the hallmarks of Russian propaganda — in media outlets across roughly thirty countries. A multifaceted, enigmatic figure, he is a self-made propagandist fueling Russia’s foreign influence.
