MOSCOW, November 1 (RAPSI) – The Supreme Court on Friday granted a Justice Ministry’s move to wind up the Russian civic movement For Human Rights (Za prava cheloveka) headed by human rights advocate Lev Ponomaryov, the court’s press service told RAPSI.

The court took such a decision because For Human Rights failed to rectify violations revealed during an unscheduled check initiated by the Justice Ministry of the organization’s compliance with the law on NGOs.

In particular, it was found that the NGO’s corporate charter of 2014 does not meet amendments added to the Russian Civil Code, which came into force after the charter’s adoption.

Moreover, according to a representative of the Justice Ministry, in 2019, seven administrative cases were opened against the civic movement and its leader Ponomaryov over violation of the order of activity of an NGO branded as foreign agent. In total, they were fined 1.9 million rubles ($30,000), she said.

The counterpart in turn objected the lawsuit. According to Ponomarev’s lawyers, an organization’s congress is to be held soon, and an issue on adjusting the corporate charter in accordance with legislation is to be considered.

The Russian civic movement For Human Rights (Za prava cheloveka) was founded on November 20, 1997. As of today, several dozens of regional and local human rights organizations are members of the NGO. In February, it was added to the list of NGOs acting as foreign agents.