Russian police searched several apartments belonging to former employees of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group Memorial on Tuesday.

The human rights group said some of the former employees were also apprehended for questioning.

One opposition party condemned the move as an assault on dissent.

Memorial, one of Russia's most renowned rights groups, was founded in 1987 to document cases of political repression in the Soviet Union. It has continued to record rights abuses in Russia amid a crackdown by the Kremlin. 

Why were raids carried out?

The organization was banned in 2021 after authorities accused it of supporting terrorism and extremism — claims the group rejected as absurd.

The raids were carried out after Russian investigators accused the group of rehabilitating Nazism, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. Authorities alleged the campaigners had included the names of World War II-era Nazi collaborators on their historical list of victims of political terror.

Police seized items and equipment carrying the logo of Memorial and took some employees for interrogation, according to the group.

"At present searches of some of the employees are continuing lawyers are not allowed to see them," Memorial wrote on Telegram.

Memorial head Yan Rachinsky, who collected the Nobel Prize on behalf of the group in 2022, was also targeted in the raids, the group said. He has spoken out against Russia's war on Ukraine.

The home of Memorial co-chair Oleg Orlov was also searched, and he is facing a criminal case for "discrediting" the army, the group added. The offense carries a possible three-year prison sentence.

Sweeping crackdown

Opposition party Yabloko said the raids were a "new step" in Russia's campaign of political repression.

"What happened is an example of the destructive battle against dissent in Russia," it said in a statement.

Since launching an invasion of Ukraine in 2022,  Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up Russia's drive to suppress different opinions, including independent media, nongovernmental rights groups, and political opponents.

Public criticism of Russia's war is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Putin has his own Human Rights Council, an entity that critics say has enabled him to pay lip service to civic freedoms while ramping up state oppression.

dmn/nm (dpa, Reuters)