Amnesty International's office in Moscow was sealed up by Russian officials, the human rights charity announced this morning.
Staff were unable to enter on Wednesday morning and found the building's locks and alarm system removed and the electricity supply cut off.
Workers also discovered a short notice from Russian authorities warning that no one could enter the office without being accompanied by a municipal official. The note also said that the building – which the charity said it rents directly from the city’s municipal authorities – was "property of a city of the Russian Federation".
Amnesty's Moscow director was pictured "homeless" working in a cafe near the office. The charity is also believed to have rented the office for more than 20 years.
No entry. Amnesty International's Moscow office sealed off by the local authorities. Amnesty's been renting here fo… https://t.co/0LSGDAzvpk
In a statement, Amnesty International’s Europe director, John Dalhuisen, described the situation as an "unwelcome surprise". He also said that it is too early to draw conclusions but that he hopes there is a simple administrative explanation for the setback.
“We do not know what prompted the Moscow authorities to prevent our staff from accessing our offices – an unwelcome surprise for which we received no prior warning," he said.
“Given the current climate for civil society work in Russia, there are clearly any number of plausible explanations, but it’s too early to draw any conclusions."
"We are homeless." Moscow Amnesty director in a cafe near to their shut-down office today
The statement continued: "We are working to resolve the situation as swiftly as possible and very much hope there is a simple administrative explanation for this setback to our work. We are 100% confident that we fulfilled all our obligations as tenants.”
The charity also revealed in a press release that members of staff have attempted to call the local authorities on a phone number listed on the notice, but said they had received no answer.