The authorities of Tula demanded that “Memorial” vacate the office

The Property and Land Relations Committee of the Tula city administration demanded that the local branch of “Memorial” vacate the office space that the human rights organization had been using since 1992 on the basis of free rent. This is reported by the “Memorial” society.

The letter was received on December 27, the authorities needed to vacate the office within a month.

The city administration, as reported, refers to the “significant need for non-residential premises for municipal needs”.

At the end of 2021, the Moscow City Court decided to liquidate the Memorial human rights center, and the Supreme Court of Russia made a similar decision regarding the International Memorial. The liquidation was initiated by the prosecutor’s office, which accused the organization of violating the law on “foreign agents.”

In October 2022, a court in Moscow declared invalid the transaction on the transfer of the “International Memorial” office on Carriage Row to the “Memorial” Scientific Research and Educational Center (NIPC). By court decision, the building was transferred to the state.

Two months later, the Yekaterinburg authorities notified Uralsk “Memorial” of the termination of the lease agreement for the premises occupied by the organization. The authorities refused to extend the lease agreement. Officials said that “Memorial” allegedly owed the city 11.7 thousand rubles. In November of this year, Roskomnadzor blocked the website of the Ural “Memorial”.

“International Memorial” is one of the oldest organizations that is engaged in researching repressions in the USSR and persecuted in Russia, it was created back in 1989 with the participation of Andrei Sakharov.