The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow fined the Memorial Human Rights Center 300,000 rubles for the lack of a foreign agent's label. This was reported on October 2 by OVD-Info with reference to the press service of the organization.
The Human Rights Center was convicted under the article on violation of the procedure for the activities of an NGO - “foreign agent” (part 2 of article 19.34 of the Administrative Code).
The case under this article against the organization was initiated in connection with the appeal that the head of the Central Asian program of "Memorial" Vitaly Ponomarev sent to the electronic reception of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the appeal, several human rights organizations called on the Russian authorities to grant political asylum to the Turkmen blogger Rozgeldy Choliev , who is being persecuted in his homeland for his publications on the Internet. The document did not indicate that Memorial was included in the register of NGOs - “foreign agents”.
It is reported that the Human Rights Center "Memorial" and "International Memorial" in 2020 drew up at least 28 protocols on non-compliance with the law on foreign agents. The total amount of fines has already reached more than six million rubles. Memorial is collecting donations to pay fines under the article on “foreign agents”.
Rozgeldy Choliev, who studied at the Karachay-Cherkess State University named after I. U.D. Aliyev, since mid-2020, posted videos on YouTube, in which he criticized the policies of the Turkmen authorities and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. In December, pressure on the student began from the administration of the Russian university and the FSB.
When Rozgeldy Choliev returned from Turkey to Russia on March 2, he was not allowed into the country and refused to accept an application for refugee status. On March 23, the activist was deported to Turkey. In Russia, Choliev is survived by his wife Myakhrijemal, who is studying at the same university, and his son Dzhelaletdin, who was born in May 2020.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan