MOSCOW -- Russia's Prosecutor-General’s Office has deemed four evangelical groups from Latvia and Ukraine as "undesirable," saying they pose a threat to constitutional order and the country's security.
"Following the examination of materials filed in the Prosecutor-General's Office, a decision was made to deem undesirable the following nongovernmental organizations: the New Generation International Christian Movement (Latvia), the New Generation Evangelical Christian Church (Latvia), the New Generation Spiritual Directorate of the Evangelist Christians (Ukraine), and the New Generation International Biblical College spiritual educational facility (Ukraine)," the office said in a statement on August 23.
The ruling effectively bans the organizations, none of which immediately commented.
Dozens of foreign nongovernmental organizations have been deemed "undesirable" in Russia in recent months.
The "undesirable" organization law, adopted in May 2015 and since updated, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that received funding from foreign sources -- mainly from Europe and the United States.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that expands the scope of the "undesirable" law to include criminalizing participation in the activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations designated as such in Russia.
Russian Prosecutor's Office Deems Four More Religious Groups As 'Undesirable'
The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office announced the decision on August 23. (file photo)