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Russia Outlaws Human Rights Watch, Intensifies Crackdown on Critics
Russia designates Human Rights Watch as an “undesirable organisation,” criminalising support or cooperation. Crackdown also targets Pussy Riot and Navalny’s foundation. WhatsApp faces potential total block.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-11-29
Russia Outlaws Human Rights Watch, Intensifies Crackdown on Critics

Russian authorities have officially outlawed Human Rights Watch (HRW) as an “undesirable organisation,” making any involvement with the international human rights group a criminal offence under a 2015 law. The designation forces HRW to cease all work in Russia and opens the door for prosecution of supporters and collaborators.

Philippe Bolopion, executive director of HRW, condemned the move, saying that “for over three decades, Human Rights Watch’s work on post-Soviet Russia has pressed the government to uphold human rights and freedoms… What’s changed is the government’s full-throttled embrace of dictatorial policies and the scope of war crimes in Ukraine.”

The decision is the latest in a series of measures targeting Kremlin critics, journalists, and activists, intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On the same day, the Russian prosecutor’s office announced an extremist designation for feminist punk band Pussy Riot, and a day earlier, the Supreme Court labelled Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation a “terrorist” organisation.

Russia’s current list of “undesirable organisations” includes more than 275 entities, encompassing news outlets, think tanks, anti-corruption groups, and environmental organisations—such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Chatham House, Transparency International, and WWF.

In a related development, Russia’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, threatened to block WhatsApp entirely if the platform fails to comply with Russian law, citing non-cooperation in fraud and “terrorism” investigations. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has accused Moscow of attempting to restrict secure communication for millions of users. The state is promoting a homegrown alternative app, MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance.

Human rights advocates warn that these measures represent a broad erosion of civil liberties, freedom of expression, and independent scrutiny in Russia.
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