Russia on Friday branded the non-governmental organization Free Buryatia as “undesirable,” a label that criminalizes the group and puts its staff at risk of prosecution.
The NGO was created in March 2022 and focuses on the rights of mobilized Buryats — an ethnic minority in Siberia — and provides them with legal advice.
Russia was accused of disproportionately enlisting conscripts from ethnic minorities in Siberia to fight in Ukraine, particularly during mobilization in September 2022.
“The activities of the foreign foundation, involved in organizing anti-Russian actions, have been declared undesirable in our country,” the prosecutor’s office said on Telegram.