MOSCOW, October 11 (RAPSI) – The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has dismissed an appeal filed by Otkrytaya Rossia (OR) organization, registered in Great Britain, demanding to remove it from the Russian list of “undesirable organizations,” RAPSI learnt in the court on Wednesday.

In April, Russia’s Justice Ministry added Otkrytaya Rossia, Open Russia Civic Movement, which is also registered in Great Britain, and the Institute of Modern Russia (IMR) located in the U.S., founded by former Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to the list of "undesirable organizations". The decision was made upon the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

According to prosecutors, these organizations implement special programs and projects aimed to discredit election results in Russia and recognize them as illegitimate. The Prosecutor General’s Office believes that “undesirable” foreign organizations create conditions for protest rallies and destabilization of political climate in Russia.

The law under which foreign NGOs can be put on "undesirable organizations" list if they are believed to be a threat to the constitution, defense or security came into effect on June 3, 2015. These organizations are to be prohibited from working and from circulating information materials in Russia, and their offices and branches are to be closed.

A decision to declare a foreign or international NGO an undesirable organization can be made or reversed by the Prosecutor General or his deputies, based on consultations with the Foreign Ministry. The Justice Ministry will compile and publish a list of non-grata organizations.

On March 28, President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting "undesirable" NGOs from creating Russian legal entities.