LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) – Russian human rights group Memorial was designated as an “extremist” movement on Thursday at a closed-door hearing of the Supreme Court, state news agency TASS said.
The ruling – the latest in a sweeping, years-long crackdown on free speech in Russia – provides a legal mechanism for authorities to prosecute anyone who contributes to the work of the Nobel Prize-wining organisation or shares material that it publishes.
Memorial said shortly before the judgement was announced that it had no doubt about the outcome.
“The case against Memorial is yet another attempt to intimidate all dissent in the country and force civil society into silence,” it said in a statement.
(Reporting by Alessandra Prentice and Mark Trevelyan)
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