According to Lugovoy, the Prosecutor General's Office made this decision at his request. The agency has not yet officially announced this decision. Lugovoy stated that the committee has been 'undermining Russia under the guise of 'human rights protection' for almost five decades' and 'has been working against our country longer than some current activists have been alive'.
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee was founded in 1977 and monitors human rights in the former Soviet Union and the OSCE area. The organization's headquarters is located in Oslo.
The register of 'undesirable' organizations has been maintained in Russia since 2015. Foreign or international organizations that, according to the authorities, pose a 'threat to the foundations of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, the country's defense capability, or state security' can be declared 'undesirable'. Such organizations are prohibited from operating in the country.
Participation in the activities of an 'undesirable organization' is punishable by administrative liability in the form of a fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles. In the case of a repeated violation within a year after the first fine for participation in the activities of an 'undesirable' organization, criminal liability ensues, ranging from fines of 300 to 500 thousand rubles to imprisonment from one to four years. Moreover, this applies to participation in activities outside of Russia.