Russian human rights group asks to maintain Russia’s presence in the Council of Europe
A number of prominent Russian human rights advocated headed by the leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, published an open letter asking not to allow Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe.
"Every day, the probability of a complete breakdown of relations between the Council of Europe and Russia that would lead to the phasing out of a number of cooperative initiatives critical to legal and humanitarian progress at the Pan-European level is increasing," the letter reads.
"Moreover, the breakdown would mean the termination of the authority of the European Court of Human Rights in Russia. And this, certainly, would drastically reduce the possibilities of Russians to assert their rights," the authors explain.
The human rights advocates ask the member-countries of the Council of Europe to maintain Russia as a member of the Council of Europe and to return the Russian Delegation to the PACE explaining that Russia is "a big and difficult country."