A leader of a prominent independent election monitoring group was formally arrested by a Moscow judge on suspicion of being involved with an “undesirable” organisation, his lawyer said on Friday (August 18).
The case against Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia's leading election watchdog Golos, is the latest in the monthslong crackdown on Kremlin critics and rights activists that the government ratcheted up after sending troops into Ukraine.
Melkonyants' was charged and detained on Thursday in Moscow and appeared in the city's Basmanny District Court on Friday. A judge arrested him, according to his lawyer.
According to the Russian media report, he has been detained until October 17. He will face up to six years of imprisonment if convicted.
Golos has not been labelled “undesirable” which is a lavel that makes involvement with such organisations a criminal offense under a 2015 law. But it was once a member of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, a group that was declared undesirable in Russia in 2021.
Melkonyants' apartment is Moscow was raided on the day he was detained. The police raided the homes of further 14 Golos members in eight cities, according to the reports.
Golos member allege pressure due to elections
In an interview, a member of the governing council at Golos associated the pressure on the group to Russia’s upcoming regional elections slated in September, and the presidential election which is expected to take place in 2024 spring.
“We see this as a form of political pressure and an attempt to stifle our activities in Russia,” Kankiya said.
Golos, which was founded in 2000, has played a key role in the independent monitoring of elections in Russia.
It has faced mounting pressure from the authorities over the years.
In 2013, the group was designated as a “foreign agent” — a label that implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations.
Three years later, it was liquidated as a nongovernmental organisation by Russia's Justice Ministry.
Golos has continued to function without registration as an NGO and exposed the violations at various elections. It was added to a new registry of ‘foreign agents’ in 2021, created by the Justice Ministry for groups that are not registered as legal entity in Russia.
According to the reports, multiple independent news outlets and rights groups have been shut down.
(With AP inputs)
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