Russian court orders shutdown of renowned rights group

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court has ruled that one of the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights organizations should be shut down. The move is the latest step in a months-long crackdown on dissent. The Prosecutor General’s Office last month petitioned the Supreme Court to revoke the legal status of Memorial — an international human rights group that rose to prominence for its studies of political repression in the Soviet Union. Memorial was declared a “foreign agent” in 2016. In their lawsuit, prosecutors alleged that the group repeatedly violated regulations obliging it to mark itself as a foreign agent, and tried to conceal the designation. The court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the prosecution.