This is the first time in Russia that a CSO has been removed from the register based on a court decision without rejecting foreign funding.

18.02.2022

St. Petersburg City Court overturned the decision of the Russian Ministry of Justice to include the Humanitarian Action Foundation in the register of CSO ‘foreign agents’. The court ordered the charity be removed from the register.

Aleksey Lakhov, development director of Humanitarian Action, announced this on Facebook.

The interests of the foundation are being represented in court by lawyer Maxim Krupsky and the Public Verdict Foundation (which has also been included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of CSOs acting as ‘foreign agents’).

In 2020, the Ministry of Justice added Humanitarian Action to the register of foreign agents, judging them to be engaging in political activities. The Ministry of Justice also tried to fine the charity. According to the Ministry, the organisation should have applied for voluntary inclusion in the register.

Humanitarian Action is one of the oldest HIV charities in Russia and has been operating in St. Petersburg since 2011. The foundation helps those at risk, especially drug addicts. It arranges rehabilitation, helps with documentation and assists with providing medications for HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2022/02/18/sud-obyazal-isklyuchit-fond-gumanitarnoe-dejstvie-iz-reestra-nko-inoagentov/