A court of appeals in the Russian capital has rejected the Moscow Helsinki Group's (MHG) appeal against its liquidation, amid a relentless Kremlin campaign to muzzle criticism of its war against Ukraine.
The First Court of Appeals of Common Jurisdiction handed down its decision late on April 27, confirming a Moscow City Court ruling in January liquidating Russia's oldest, and one of its last, independent human rights organizations, at the request of the Justice Ministry.
The case was filed by the Justice Ministry, which claimed MHG made "gross" and "fatal" actions related to the participation of its employees in a number of events outside Moscow, while the group is a Moscow regional organization.
MHG countered that its main activities have always been carried out beyond the borders of Moscow and that even if the ministry deemed the activities occurred outside of the Russian capital, liquidating the group was a disproportionate punishment for the offense.
"It is worth noting separately that the court refused to accept the expert opinion of the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor," MHG said in a brief statement.
"As of today, the MHG has officially been liquidated, and, as a result, its activities are prohibited on the territory of Russia," it added.
WATCH: Moscow's Helsinki Group fights for survival amid the ongoing crackdown on civil society in Russia.
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Moscow Helsinki Group Fights For Survival In Russia
The announcement is the latest in a series of moves by the judiciary in Russia to silence rights groups, independent media, and the opposition. During the crackdown, many Kremlin critics have been jailed, while dozens have left the country fearing persecution.
The rejection of the appeal came a day after MHG announced the winners of its annual awards for their contributions to human rights activities in Russia.
The laureates included blogger Dmitry Ivanov, who was recently sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison for expressing his opinion about Russia's aggression against Ukraine; film director Vitaly Mansky; rights defenders Yelena Nemirovskaya, Olga Sadovskaya, Pavel Chikov; activist Sarkis Darbinyan; journalist Katerina Gordeyeva; veteran human rights defender Yan Rachinsk; lawyer Tatyana Okushko; and the organizer of online discussions about the human rights situation in Russia, Aleksandra Krylenkova.
MHG was established by prominent Soviet dissidents Yury Orlov, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, Andrei Amalrik, Natan Sharansky, Mikhail Bernshtam, Yelena Bonner, Aleksandr Ginzburg, Pyotr Grigorenko, and others in the Moscow apartment of legendary rights defender and physicist Andrei Sakharov.
In 2012, MHG was one of the first human rights groups to condemn Russia's controversial law on "foreign agents."
During the unprecedented anti-government protests in Belarus over rigged presidential election in 2020, MHG assisted Belarusian citizens who fled that country and came to Russia to avoid extradition.
Since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, MHG has been providing Ukrainian citizens in Russia with help to avoid possible persecution.
From 1996 until her death in 2018, Alekseyeva led the respected organization.
In 2017, when Alekseyeva marked her 90th birthday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited her in her apartment to congratulate her.
Putin then expressed his "gratitude for significant contribution to the strengthening of democratic institutions and civil society" in Russia.