People take part in a demonstration in support of Ukraine organised by Amnesty International – Portugal, near the Russian embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, 19 March 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO COTRIM

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has declared Amnesty International an “undesirable” organisation, according to a press release published on Monday.

The statement described London-based NGO as a “centre of global Russophobic projects paid for by the accomplices of the Kiev regime”, accusing Amnesty International of supporting “extremist” organisations and financing “foreign agent” activity.

The Prosecutor General’s Office also accused the NGO of “justifying the crimes of the Ukrainian neo-Nazis” and supporting Russia’s “political and economic isolation” since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Declaring organisations “undesirable” compels them to cease all activity and dissolve themselves in Russia, and can also lead to fines or imprisonment for individuals associated with the organisation. Other “undesirable organisations” in Russia include Transparency International, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

Amnesty International is an international human rights NGO that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize In 1977 for its “defence of human dignity against torture, violence, and degradation”.

According to its website, Amnesty is guided by “deeply held core principles of impartiality, independence and accuracy … built on an understanding that all human rights must be respected together if we are to achieve a world free from fear and want”. The organisation is “independent of any institution, ideology, economic interest, and religion”.