Putin rejects complaints over move to shut top rights group

Russian President Vladimir Putin has brushed aside complaints about prosecutors’ move to shut down one of the country’s most prominent human rights groups, claiming that it listed Nazi collaborators among the victims of Soviet-era repression

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin on Thursday brushed aside complaints about prosecutors' move to close one of Russia’s most prominent human rights groups, claiming it listed Nazi collaborators among the victims of Soviet-era repression. The Memorial group denied the allegations.

During a video call with members of the Kremlin human rights council, Putin responded to their complaints by asserting that Memorial had listed people allegedly involved in the killings of Jews during World War II alongside victims of Soviet repression.

“Memorial should have conformed to the humane goals it has declared as the core of its activities and it shouldn't have done things that I mentioned," Putin said, according to Russian news reports.

Speaking on independent Dozhd television, Nikita Petrov, a leading member of Memorial, rejected Putin's claim as false. He argued that the group squarely relied on the authorities' decisions rehabilitating the victims of Soviet-era repressions while compiling their lists.