Watchdog

KAZAN, Russia -- The Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia has labeled the All-Tatar Public Center (TIU), a leading nongovernmental organization involved in promoting and protecting Tatar history, culture, and language, as an extremist group amid Moscow's ongoing crackdown on NGOs.

The Supreme Court's press service told RFE/RL that the decision was made on June 10 at the request of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Tatarstan.

The Tatar Prosecutor-General's Office said earlier that it had requested the shuttering of the TIU because it felt statements by some Tatar activists at a 2019 public gathering contained "elements of extremism," while the TIU's charter has sentences that can be interpreted as calling for the separation of Tatarstan from Russia.

TIU leader Farit Zakiyev, who is currently in Turkey, called the court ruling "expected," adding that "in current Russia, there is no way for independent nongovernmental organizations to survive."

"The last independent Tatar organization was liquidated. We have nothing to do with extremism. Our goals have been known for decades -- Tatar as a state language, the State Tatar University, the preservation of statehood, the national identity of the people and of the nation," Zakiyev said.

TIU Deputy Chairman Galishan Nuriakhmet and lawyer Aleksei Zlatkin told RFE/RL that the ruling will be appealed.

The TIU has been functioning since 1989. In recent years, the organization has been under pressure from authorities in the wake of an ongoing crackdown on nongovernment organizations, independent media, and democratic institutions across Russia.

In late October last year, the Justice Ministry suspended the TIU's operations, claiming that the organization carries out "extremist activities."

A Russian court has issued an arrest warrant for Violetta Grudina, the former leader of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's team in the northwestern city of Murmansk, as authorities continue to crack down on those close to the Kremlin critic.

Grudina, who is currently outside of Russia, wrote on Telegram on June 10 that it is unclear what the exact charges against her are, adding that they likely include creating an extremist group, violating coronavirus restrictions, and spreading false information about Russia's armed forces.

In late-December, Russian authorities added Grudina to the registry of wanted people. In January, Grudina told RFE/RL that she fled Russia for an unspecified country.

Last month, a court in Moscow issued arrest warrants for several close associates of Navalny including the former director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Ivan Zhdanov, former FBK lawyers Lyubov Sobol and Vyacheslav Gimadi, and the former coordinator of Navalny's regional network, Leonid Volkov, on charges of creating an extremist group.

Russia's Criminal Code envisages a penalty of up to 12 years in prison for people convicted of such charges.

There were already outstanding arrest warrants for the four activists, who are also currently living outside of Russia, on different charges that they and their supporters have called politically motivated.

The FBK and other groups associated with Navalny, as well as his political movement, were declared "extremist organizations" by Russian authorities in June 2021 and disbanded.

Several of the Kremlin critic's associates were subsequently charged with establishing an extremist group. Many of them have fled the country amid pressure from the Russian authorities.