News · Общество

Russian Justice Ministry demands closure of anti-fascist charity

Source: Together Against Fascism website

The Russian Justice Ministry has petitioned a Moscow court to shut down the Hans Walz Together Against Fascism charity, news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti said Thursday, referring to the court website.

A pre-trial hearing on the petition is slated for 21 June.

Alexander Zabara, the president of the charity, told Ostorozhno Novosti that he had already been summoned to the Justice Ministry and asked to bring additional documentation regarding the charity’s activities. 

Together Against Fascism has recently been experiencing financial difficulties as many of the organisations previously offering support have shut down themselves, Zabara added. 

The Hans Walz Together Against Fascism charity, which was set up in 2016, helps Holocaust survivors by providing them with legal and medical assistance, and also collects the life stories of former concentration camp prisoners.

“There are currently more than 140,000 people in Russia who were imprisoned in concentration camps as children. Almost 60,000 have disabilities. Our main programmes aim to provide medical care to former prisoners of Nazism and fascism,” the charity website says.