Russian election watchdog “Golos” announced Tuesday of termination of its work, citing the sentencing of Grigory Melkonyants, an election expert, as a core reason. In 2013, the Ministry of Justice identified “Golos,” which had operated in Russia since the 2000s, as a “foreign agent.”
In the declaration, “Golos” shared that it only recently received the sentencing document of Melkonyants and explained that the case establishes a serious threat of legal prosecutions to not only workers and contributors of “Golos,” but also anyone who interacted with the organization to receive legal consultation. That threat is cited as the reason for termination.
“Golos” identified the termination of its work by the government as a step towards the demolition of constitutional rights in Russia, as the watchdog worked to protect the constitution and the civil rights of citizens, identifying its goals as patriotic.
“Golos” updated the readers on the liquidation of all regional centers, the end of all previously ongoing projects, and the termination of all subscription donations; the information on the website will remain, but will cease to be updated. The watchdog also cautioned everyone who lives in or plans to visit Russia not to repost any “Golos” information from the website or social media and to delete any previously made reposts in order to avoid any legal repercussions.
The watch concluded its declaration, stating:
Fairness, unfortunately, does not always win – it needs to be fought for. And there is constant risk of a loss. This time the risk came true.
Goodbye.
Election expert Melkonyants was sentenced to five years in prison in May, sparking concerns from UN experts. Melkonyants was arrested a month before the election, and two days after publishing a YouTube video explaining that Russian elections in annexed Ukrainian territories would not be legally binding. Melkonyants, who was classified as a political prisoner by an independent human rights organization
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Russia election watchdog terminates work amid sentencing of election expert – JURIST Legal News
