Amnesty International, which has accused the Kremlin of violating human rights with its bombing campaign in Syria, was on Wednesday evicted from its Moscow office.
The Moscow city government, from which Amnesty leased the premises in the Russian capital’s center, said the group was behind on the rent. However, Amnesty said it had documents to prove it was up to date with payments.
Staff at the Amnesty Moscow office said they arrived at work to find the locks had been changed, official seals had been placed over the doors and the electricity had been cut off.
Amnesty International’s Europe director John Dalhuisen said the eviction might be part of an official crackdown on civil society groups that criticize the Kremlin, but he said there were other possible explanations.
In a statement sent to reporters, the Moscow city property department said it had sent written warnings to Amnesty that it was in rent arrears.
“This complaint was ignored by the unscrupulous tenant,” the statement said.
The department said it voided Amnesty’s lease on the grounds that the tenant was violating the terms of the rental agreement.
“In this connection, the premises were closed and sealed off,” the statement said.
Dalhuisen said: “This bizarre claim is simply not true.”
He said the group received no warning and had documents showing the property was paid for up to and including last month.
“As an organization, along with others, that has criticized the Russian authorities, it is possible this fits into the context of the squeeze on civil society,” Dalhuisen said in a telephone interview.
“It is equally possible, however, that this is a genuine administrative mix-up, or that other interests are at play within the municipality. At this stage I do not want to speculate until we have had the opportunity to try to resolve this with the municipal authorities.” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of Amnesty’s office problems.
US Department of State spokesman John Kirby said he had seen reports about the eviction, and “obviously we’re concerned about it.” He said Washington would monitor the dispute to see how it developed over time.
Amnesty, which was founded in London, frequently criticizes the Russian authorities over what it says are human rights violations. It has, in particular, alleged that Russia and its allies have killed large numbers of civilians with airstrikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo. Moscow denies that.
Under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule, rights groups that criticize the Kremlin and receive foreign funding have come under growing pressure.
Kremlin officials have accused some foreign-backed civil society groups of working on behalf of Western governments to foment unrest and replicate the revolutions that forced out pro-Russian leaders in several ex-Soviet states.
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