European Parliament Members Condemn Attack on Ingushetia's Office of Memorial
Select members of the European Parliament have condemened the arson attack on Ingushetia's Office of Memorial, by means of a petition. The information came by means of a press release today, January 19, and reads as follows:
"As Members of the European Parliament, we strongly deplore the arson attack on Ingushetia ́s regional office of Memorial, which is one of Russia's oldest and most prominent human rights organisations.
The headquarters of Memorial were set on fire on 17 January, 2018. It is believed that this has followed the arrest of human rights activist Oyub Titiev, the head of Memorial ́s Chechen operations, who was arrested over trumped up charges for supposed narcotics offences a week before. We believe that this arson attack is politically motivated with a goal to intimidate anyone speaking up for human rights violations in the Russian Federation. We call for Mr Titiev ́s urgent release and demand the Russian government to put an end to the human rights violations against its citizens.
Petras Auštrevičius, Ana Maria Gomes, Sandra Kalniete, Jaromír Štětina, Mark Demesmaeker, Lars Adaktusson, Reinhard Bütikofer, Georgi Pirinski, Gunnar Hökmark, Soraya Post, Jasenko Selimović, Anna Fotyga, Rebecca Harms, Bart Staes, Benedek Jávor, Tunne Kelam, Zigmantas Balčytis, Barbara Lochbihler, Michael Gahler, Artis Pabriks, Fredrick Federley, Maria Grapini, Antanas Guoga, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Hans-Olaf Henkel, Dariusz Rosati"
Photo source: HRW.org
Edited for web by Tamzin Whitewood