Reacting to the Russian Prosecutor’s Office decision to block five websites of the Open Russia movement founded by the former Russian prisoner of conscience and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia said: “The Russian authorities are clearly targeting Open Russia in a bid to suffocate dissent and pluralism in the Russian media and expunge Khodorkovsky’s presence in Russian politics and society. Following bans on UK-registered branches of Open Russia in April, the Prosecutor’s Office gave assurances that the ban wouldn’t affect the activities of the Russian-based movement of the same name. Today’s events now show that promise to be nothing more than a brazen lie. The authorities have shown their true intent to target and harass Open Russia out of existence.” [Read more]