Russian undesirable organizations law
| Undesirable organizations law Undesirable NGOs law |
|
|---|---|
| On Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation | |
| Citation | 129-FZ |
| Date enacted | 23 May 2015 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill | 662902-6 |
The Russian undesirable organizations law (officially Federal Law of 23.05.2015 N 129-FZ "On amendments of some legislative acts of the Russian Federation"; Федеральный закон от 23.05.2015 № 129-ФЗ "О внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Российской Федерации") is a law that was signed by President Vladimir Putin on 23 May 2015 as a follow-up to the 2012 Russian foreign agent law. The law gives prosecutors the power to extrajudicially declare foreign and international organizations "undesirable" in Russia and shut them down. Organizations that do not disband when given notice to do so, as well as Russians who maintain ties to them, are subject to high fines and significant jail time. Critics say the terms are unclear and lead to dangerous precedent. Supporters of the bill reference organizations that have become actively involved in supporting political dissent.
Under the law, Russian prosecutors are able to target foreign groups which they deem to present "a threat to the foundation of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, the defense capability of the country or the security of the state."
Groups designated undesirable are forbidden from holding public events and from possessing or distributing promotional materials, including via mass media. All Russian banks and financial institutions are forbidden from cooperating with such organizations and are required to inform Russia's financial watchdog agency about any such organizations that attempt to contact them.
Given a notice from the prosecutors, such organizations have to disband. Violators face fines or prison terms of up to six years. People cooperating with such entities are subject to fines and can be banned from entering Russia. Russians who maintain ties with "undesirables" face penalties ranging from fines to a maximum of six years in prison.
Duma deputy Aleksandr Tarnavsky, one of the legislation's coauthors, stated that "I do not think that there is a particular company that has to fall under this list. But if a company suddenly starts causing a lot of trouble, starts acting arrogantly and impudently, then in theory it could fall under the list of undesirable organizations."
On 25 May 2015, a first proposal of undesirable NGOs to the General Prosecutor's office was made by a parliamentarian from LDPR. The list included the think tank Carnegie Moscow Center, the international history and human rights society Memorial, as well as the Moscow offices of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
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