Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered International Memorial, one of the country’s oldest and most respected human rights groups, to close down. Memorial focused on recovering and preserving the memory of millions of people who were executed, imprisoned or persecuted during the Soviet era. But Russian officials accused the group of being a “public threat” receiving funding from Western powers. Rights advocates have denounced the court’s ruling. This is an attorney with Memorial.

Genri Reznik: “We disagree with the decision. We think it’s illegal and unjustified. The claim was insolvent. But these kinds of cases have a powerful political motivation.”