The United States expressed concern Thursday that a series of raids on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia could become a “witch hunt.”
“The United States is deeply concerned by the unprecedented wave of inspections on nongovernmental organizations and civil society groups across Russia,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing Thursday.
The crackdown “appears to be aimed at undermining civil society” in Russia, and the US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, has met with officials in Moscow in recent days to make Washington’s views on the issue known, Nuland added.
As many as 2,000 NGOs across Russia have been raided by prosecutors and other officials in the past month. Many NGO activists have complained of unexpected and time-consuming raids, and activists have condemned the inspections as a form of intimidation.
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