Amnesty International's Moscow office has been closed by city authorities.

The electricity in the entryway had been turned off and new locks had been installed in the office's door, Alexander Artemev, Amnesty International's media manager for Europe and Central Asia, told Dozhd TV on Wednesday

A notice on the door stated that the office was now city property. Amnesty received no advance warning about the closure.



The international human rights organization has rented offices in a 19th century mansion for 20 years. The Moscow department of property has yet to comment on the situation.

The day before the seizure, the human rights organization had called on Russian authorities to investigate the claims of Ildar Dadin, a dissident serving a sentence in a penal colony, who complained that he was systematically tortured by the prison staff.