Russia withdraws registration of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International
Russia withdraws the registration of 15 international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The Russian Ministry of Justice said in a statement that the organizations were “excluded due to the discovery of violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation”. It is suspected that the law of the end of March prohibits the distribution of “false” information about actions by the Russian government abroad.
“This new iron curtain will not stop our ongoing efforts to protect the rights of all Russians and citizens in Ukraine,” Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth said in a statement. According to the human rights group, the Kremlin’s action is part of a years-long strategy to quell critical voices in Russia.
Ukrainian ombudsman: ‘Russian soldiers have raped children’
Ukraine’s ombudsman says Russian soldiers raped children. In a post on social media Lyudmila Denisova mentions a number of examples. A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by five men and is now pregnant. An 11-year-old boy was raped while his mother was forced to sit on a chair, according to the ombudsperson.
Russian soldiers have previously been charged with war crimes including rape. “There is no place on earth or in hell where racist criminals can hide from retaliation!” Denisova wrote on social media. She calls on the United Nations Human Rights Commission to investigate the alleged war crimes.