The Council of the Russian branch of Transparency International has decided to liquidate its legal entity, which has existed since 1999. This was reported on the organization's website.
The team made this decision after the Prosecutor General's Office declared the organization «undesirable». The practice of applying the law on «undesirable organizations», according to Transparency, makes the further work of a Russian legal entity practically impossible.
“This decision was made because we, the founders and leaders of TI-Russia, believe that the people who work with us and who believe in our mission — combating corruption, promoting transparency, accountability and decency — are more important than words, names and other legal circumstances imposed on us,” Transparency explained the decision to liquidate.
Transparency International appeared in 1993, it studies corruption in more than a hundred countries around the world. In the Transparency 2022 ranking, Russia ranked 138 out of 180 in terms of corruption.
Now the Code of Administrative Offenses (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) provides for a fine of up to one hundred thousand rubles for «participation in the activities of an»undesirable organization». By “participation in activities” Russian courts understand, for example, reposts of publications from organizations recognized as “undesirable”.
Repeated «participation in the activities» of such an organization can already become a reason for a criminal case — part 1 of article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, up to 4 years in prison. The same article provides for liability for donations to «undesirable organizations» and for organizing their activities — up to 5 years in a colony and up to 6 years in a colony, respectively.
Nine Protocols. The head of the «Apology of Protest» Aleksey Glukhov has been on trial all week for old references to an «undesirable organization»