Russia and Belarus cheer dismantling of USAID as rights groups voice concerns
Russia and Belarus cheer dismantling of USAID as rights groups voice concerns
Musk-led cuts to the US foreign aid agency have impacted rights groups, independent media, and election monitoring campaigns in Russia, Belarus and Moldova.
Author: Unknown
Published on: 07/02/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
Russia's foreign minister says USAID is "anything but an aid, development and assistance agency" OVD-Info, a Russian rights group that tracks political arrests and offers legal aid to those detained and prosecuted, says that while the agency's dismantling has little impact on them, others that it helps will be affected. Russia has designated many rights organisations as "foreign agents" in light of the freeze, Russian philanthropists Boris Zimin and exiled tycoon-turned-Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky announced a $600,000 (€577,736) support programme for Russian and Ukrainian language projects. In Belarus, rights groups supporting political prisoners in the country are expected to see drastic cuts to their funding. "It is necessary to make their existence legally impossible," he says. He cites the need to make the existence legally impossible.
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