The jailed leader of a prominent election watchdog is on trial in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — A jailed leader of a prominent independent election monitoring group in Russia appeared in court Wednesday as his trial continued on charges of organizing the work of an “undesirable” organization.

Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia’s top election watchdog Golos, faces up to six years in prison if convicted. He dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. The proceedings against him are part of the Months-long crackdown on Kremlin critics and human rights activists, which the government tightened after sending troops to Ukraine.

Golos is an independent watchdog that monitors and detects violations in all major elections in Russia. It was founded in 2000 and has since played a key role in the independent monitoring of elections in Russia. Over the years it has faced increasing pressure from authorities. In 2013 the group was referred to as a “foreign agent.” – a term that implies additional government control and carries strong pejorative connotations. Three years later it was liquidated as a non-governmental organization by the Russian Ministry of Justice.

Golos continued to operate as an NGO without registration and exposed violations in various elections. In 2021, it was added to a new “foreign agents” register created by the Ministry of Justice for groups not registered as a legal entity in Russia.

It was not classified as “undesirable” – a designation that, under a 2015 law, makes involvement in such organizations a criminal offense. But it was once a member of the European Network of Election Observation Organizations, a group declared “undesirable” in Russia in 2021.

Independent journalists, critics, activists and opposition figures in Russia have come under increasing pressure from the government in recent years, which has intensified significantly against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine. Several independent news outlets and rights groups have been shut down, labeled “foreign agents” or banned as “undesirable.” Hundreds of activists and Kremlin critics were prosecuted.