[JURIST] Russian President Vladmir Putin [official website] signed a law on Sunday that allows for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or firms deemed “undesirable” on national security grounds to be sanctioned and banned from operation within the country. Further, the term undesirable is open to interpretation and not specifically defined within the statute. Under the law, Russian authorities would essentially be allowed to prosecute organizations they believe pose a threat to Russia’s Constitutional order, defensive capacity and national security. These organizations could face up to six years in prison as well as fines. The US Department of State [official website] said it was “deeply troubled” by the new law. Advocacy group Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] said [AI report] that the bill would “squeeze the life from civil society” while Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] warned [HRW report] that it would be locals who would be most heavily impacted. HRW Europe and Central Asia Director Hugh Williamson [official profile] stated, “There is little doubt that [the law’s] primary targets are Russian activists and Russian Independent agencies.” Supporters of the law said that the law is necessary due to Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine.

With the signing of this law, Russia is building on its already restrictive laws for foreign NGOs within the country. In 2012 the Russian Federal Council, the country’s upper house of parliament, approved a bill [JURIST report] that labels NGOs that accept international funding as “foreign agents.” In August 2013, Russia’s Constitutional Court received [JURIST report] the first official complaint against the country’s new law, which requires political NGOs receiving funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” Kostroma Center was fined 300,000 rubles (USD $9,000) for organizing a roundtable with US diplomats, which investigators said counted as “political activity.” Since the NGO law took effect [JURIST report] in 2012, Russian activists have vowed to challenge it. Leading rights groups, including Memorial [official website], election-monitoring body Golos [official website, in Russian] and the Moscow Helsinki Group [official website] have all chosen to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website]. The US State Department claimed [Reuters report] it had “deep concern” about the new bill, but was likewise reminded by Moscow that such an issue involves domestic rather than international policy. In April 2013, HRW released a report [text, PDF] analyzing the law and calling for its repeal.