Some of Russia's leading NGOs said Thursday that their work would be hit after they were turned down for grants by a government that brands them "foreign agents" under a controversial law.
Prominent human rights groups that received state monies in previous years will not get aid in 2016, officials announced Wednesday, with more funds apparently going towards patriotic organisations seen as bolstering the Kremlin. The country's most prominent rights group Memorial; the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Saint Petersburg, which investigates military abuses; and the Golos election monitoring group will not receive any funding. They have all been forced to register as "foreign agents" under a 2012 law aimed at groups receiving funding from abroad that Moscow says is designed to stop meddling by the West but civil society has decried as part of a campaign to stifle criticism.
In response to the refusal, Golos launched a public appeal for $54,000 (49,000 euros) to prevent a cash shortfall. "We ask responsible citizens and businesses to support our fight for honest elections," Golos co-chairman Grigory Melkoniants told the Interfax news agency.
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