"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland notes with concern and disappointment today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the liquidation of the International Memorial Society," the foreign ministry in Warsaw said in a statement in English.
It added that Memorial International "is one of Russia’s oldest, best-known and distinguished civil society organisations, whose activists are involved in, among other things, defending human rights and research aimed at documenting Stalinist crimes."
The Polish foreign ministry's statement on Tuesday afternoon also said that the results of the International Memorial Society’s work "are an invaluable achievement of civil society in Russia."
Poland "is grateful and has a high regard for the Society’s immense effort to reveal the truth about repressions against Poles, in particular the Katyn Massacre, the Augustów Roundup, and the Polish Operation by the NKVD," the statement added.
The Polish foreign ministry condemned "all forms of human rights violations, including systemic repression against civil society, the opposition, human rights defenders, and independent media outlets."
Tuesday's ruling by the Russian Supreme Court capped a year of crackdowns on opposition movements and rights groups, which has also seen the top Kremlin critic jailed, his political movement banned and many of his allies flee the country, the Reuters news agency reported.
A Russian Supreme Court judge delivers the verdict during a hearing in Moscow on Tuesday to consider the disbanding of the country's Memorial International human rights group. Photo: EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
Moscow says it is simply enforcing laws to thwart extremism and shield the country from foreign influence, according to Reuters.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, gov.pl