Russia: Amnesty International's Moscow office reopened
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 18 November 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Amnesty International's Moscow office reopened, 18 November 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a261c.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 18, 2016
Amnesty International announced on November 3 that Moscow's office had been sealed, a door broken, locks changed, and the alarm system switched off.
The director of Amnesty International's branch in Russia says his staff has returned to the Moscow office that they were evicted from earlier in November.
Sergei Nikitin said on November 18 that he signed a new lease agreement with the Moscow property department, after which they were allowed to return to the office, which had been sealed for 16 days.
Nikitin added that the sides agreed that the eviction was the result of a "technical mix-up" and that Amnesty International did not owe any payments on the old lease.
Nikitin posted photographs of the staff returning to the office on his Facebook page.
On November 3, Nikitin announced that the organization's Moscow office had been sealed, a door broken, locks changed, and the alarm system switched off.
The Moscow property department claimed the group owed rent, which the London-based Amnesty denied.
Nongovernmental organizations that are critical of the Kremlin have come under pressure from the Russian authorities since the country adopted a law in 2012 requiring all organizations that receive foreign funding to register as "foreign agents."
With reporting by TASS and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
