‘Memorial’ organisations designated extremist: Vital information for donors
On 9 April, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled to designate the ‘International Public Movement Memorial’ as an extremist organisation. This unlawful and unsubstantiated decision creates a framework for the state to prosecute anyone cooperating with any Memorial initiative, including our independent project.
The implications for donors
Until the organisation is formally added to the list of ‘extremist’ entities, financial support does not constitute a legal offence. The court’s decision is not set to come into force until 9 May. From that date, however, any transfer of funds to us may be treated as a criminal offence under Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (‘financing extremist activity’). The most severe penalty carries a prison sentence of between three and eight years. Furthermore, prosecution under this article leads to inclusion on the Rosfinmonitoring register, which effectively prevents individuals from managing or disposing of their property in Russia.
Donations from foreign bank cards
If you donate from an account held in a country that exchanges financial data with Russia, or through a bank connected to it, and you travel to Russia or to countries that comply with Russian requests in politically motivated criminal cases, we strongly advise you to cease your donations for your own safety.
If your donations are made from accounts in countries that do not exchange financial information with Russia, but you still travel to Russia, you must ensure that any devices you carry across the Russian border contain no records of these transactions. Otherwise, you should refrain from donating.
If your donation receipts are sent to email accounts provided by Russian services, such as mail.ru or Yandex, we recommend moving this correspondence to a more secure email provider.
Data security and protection
For our part, we are taking every necessary measure to ensure your information is protected. Our donation platform provides a high level of security at every stage. All data is encrypted, and payments are handled by verified providers in accordance with the strictest international standards, including PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 certification.
Full bank card details are never stored within the donation system; only technical data, such as the last four digits of the card, is retained. Personal data, including names and contact information, is stored exclusively in encrypted form with strictly limited access.
Despite this pressure, we will continue and expand our work for as long as those subjected to politically motivated criminal prosecution remain deprived of their liberty. This work is only possible with your support.
If you have any questions, reach us via [email protected]
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