Germany condemns moves to shut Russian NGO, labels it essential to ties
BERLIN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday he was shocked at moves to shut down Memorial, a Russian human rights group, adding that the group was vital to Russian-German relations.
Memorial said on Thursday prosecutors had demanded https://www.reuters.com/world/top-rights-group-says-russia-seeks-close-it-violating-foreign-agent-law-2021-11-11 the closure of its main offices over violations of a law targeting "foreign agents", a move it said was politically motivated. The NGO started in the 1980s by documenting the crimes of the Stalinist era, but has since become more human rights-focused.
"Dealing with the past in an independent, critical and professional manner is also inestimably important for relations between Germany and Russia - particularly when it comes to the crimes Germans committed against people in the Soviet Union," Maas said.
"The politically motivated persecution of critical civil society must end," he added in a statement. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt Editing by Paul Carrel)
