Secretary General

Following today’s decision by the Russian Supreme Court to postpone the hearing of a lawsuit brought by the Russian Justice Ministry against the Russian Memorial Society, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General TJ gave a comment to TASS news agency.

“Today’s decision by the Russian Supreme Court is a welcome development that demonstrates the sense of responsibility and goodwill of all sides to find an appropriate legal solution and give the Russian Memorial Society time to address the outstanding issues. I hope this decision will pave the way to the complete resolution of the problem and will allow the organization to continue its work to the benefit of the civil society in Russia and at large,” Jagland said.

He recalled his conversation with the Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov in October to discuss the matter, and said he stood ready to continue interaction with the Russian authorities on this and other issues to advance human rights and the development of civil society in the country.