The Ministry of Justice excluded the St. Petersburg “Deistvie” center from the list of “foreign agents”

The Ministry of Justice of Russia excluded from the list of so-called foreign agents the St. Petersburg center of social and informational initiatives “Deistvie”. This non-profit organization was engaged in the prevention of HIV infection and assistance to vulnerable groups of the population. On July 7, “Deistvie” announced the termination of the community center.

The center was included in “foreign agents” in 2018.

The director of Action, Valery Sozaev, stated that the center actually participated in the grant programs of the Global Fund to fight HIV, malaria and tuberculosis through the Open Institute of Public Health, but its activity cannot be called political.

In the future, the Ministry of Justice fined the center at least three times for non-compliance with the reporting rules established for “foreign agents”.

• Non-profit organizations fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia are often persecuted and put on the list of “foreign agents” because of their participation in international disease prevention programs and because of their work with risk groups, including men. having sex with men and with transgender people according to the existing laws in Russia can be considered “LGBT propaganda”.