The society, a non-governmental organization monitoring human rights violations in Chechnya and other regions of the North Caucasus, which publicizes alleged disappearances, executions and torture in the region, is supported by global human rights watchdog Amnesty International.
Vladimir Demidov, the prosecutor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, claimed that in 2005 and 2006 the organization failed to pay over one million rubles ($37,100) in taxes, and committed a series of administrative violations, holding unsanctioned rallies, and violating laws on public organizations.
The Russian government has faced criticism from Western leaders for restrictions imposed on rights groups and NGOs operating in the country, and the issue is often cited as an example of Russia's alleged "backsliding" on democracy. In particular, an April law imposed more stringent and complicated financial reporting and registration requirements for NGOs.
Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, the head of the Russian Chechen Friendship Society, which also co-published the U.S.-funded newspaper Pravo-Zashchita (Rights Protection), said he would appeal the decision of the Nizhny Novgorod regional court to the Supreme Court.
Dmitriyevsky was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in February on charges of instigating ethnic, national, and social hatred after publishing speeches by former Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and his envoy Akhmed Zakayev. The Kremlin has accused both men of terrorism, and Maskhadov was killed in a military operation in March 2005.
In June, Amnesty International declared Dmitriyevsky and another leader of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Oksana Chelysheva, winners of AI's Special Award for Human Rights Journalism Under Threat, at the 15th annual U.K. Media Awards in London. The move was criticized by the Kremlin.
