Russian Embassy Calls On US To Stop Interfering In Work Of Competent Authorities

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2023) The Russian Embassy in the United States has called on the US government to stop trying to interfere in Russia's domestic affairs, after the US State Department condemned the ruling of the Moscow City Court to close down the human rights organization Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG).

"We took notice of another anti-Russian statement of the administration. This time we are charged with non-observance of human rights in connection with the order of the Moscow City Court to liquidate the Moscow Helsinki Group, as well as in connection with the designation of other civil society organizations as undesirable. We call on American officials to stop interfering in our internal affairs and the work of the Russian competent authorities," the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy emphasized that Washington should be concerned about the human rights situation in the United States, instead of accusing other countries of neglecting democratic freedoms.

The Russian Justice Ministry argued during a trial in Moscow on Wednesday that the Moscow Helsinki Group violated its own charter by operating outside the capital. An audit of MHG, one of Russia's oldest human rights groups, found in November that the organization held 11 events outside of Moscow between 2019 and 2021.

The MGH argued that the audit was conducted illegally. The rights group countersued the ministry on Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to delay the trial, but a Moscow district court rejected the lawsuit. The Moscow City Court ruled on Wednesday to close down MHG. The US State Department condemned the ruling in a Friday statement.