(Berlin, June 5, 2026) \u2013 On June 4, 2026, Russian officials included a leading rights group, OVD-Info, along with 35 other Russian organizations, in its list of \u201cextremists,\u201d Human Rights Watch said today. A designation as \u201cextremist\u201d entails being barred from engaging in any activities for the group, under threat of a lengthy prison sentence.
OVD-Info, named after the abbreviation for \u201cpolice department,\u201d was founded in 2011 in response to a mass crackdown on peaceful public protest. It has since provided legal help in freedom of assembly and expression cases to tens of thousands of people, run a 24/7 hotline for victims to report abuses and seek help, and documented rights abuses. It has helped over 2,300 applicants win cases before the European Court of Human Rights.
\u201cRussian authorities are increasingly targeting human rights groups with sham \u2018extremism\u2019 labels,\u201d said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe government should cherish the work these groups do, not demonize it.\u201d
OVD-Info said that despite the decision it would continue its work. \u201cBy declaring our work \u2018extremism,\u2019 they are not outlawing a project, but society\u2019s very ability\u2026 to document detentions, help those facing persecution, and call repression by its name,\u201d Daniil Beilinson, OVD-Info\u2019s co-founder, told Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe state that rewrites the past cannot tolerate evidence of the present, and so it seeks to ban both at once. But you can\u2019t ban people from knowing it. We will not shut down, and we will not stop our work.\u201d
The June 4 update of the federal terrorist and extremist list was apparently based on the Supreme Court\u2019s April 9 decision to ban \u201cInternational Public Movement Memorial\u201d and its alleged branches as an \u201cextremist\u201d organization. The sham process concluded in one hearing, behind closed doors, and the case file was classified as \u201ctop secret.\u201d The court did not allow Memorial\u2019s attorneys to participate in the proceedings. Before the authorities liquidated the country\u2019s leading human rights organization Memorial Human Rights Centre in 2021, it had been a\u00a0key partner of OVD-Info, which operates without a legal entity.
The 36 organizations added to the list on June 4 included independent Memorial-affiliated regional groups conducting historical research, and providing education, and legal aid to victims of rights violations, organizations based outside Russia operating under the Memorial brand, Memorial\u2019s political prisoners project, and the Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre. In 2022, Memorial was granted the Nobel Peace Prize for its \u201coutstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power.\u201d
Participating in or financing an extremist organization in Russia is punishable by up to 12 years in prison. Symbols of \u201cextremist\u201d organizations are banned and displaying them is punishable with up to 15 days in detention for the first offense and up to 4 years in prison for a repeat offense. The authorities may include individuals suspected of involvement with an extremist organization in the countrywide \u201clist of extremists\u201d and freeze their bank accounts.
\u201cRussian authorities have long stopped respecting the right to peaceful protest as they crack down on all forms of dissent,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cThey should stop misusing the \u2018extremist\u2019 legislation to decimate civil society and annul these absurd designations.\u201d
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