Russian authorities have charged Olga Sibireva, an expert at the Sova research center, with cooperating with an 'undesirable' organization, the center said. The charge stems from another project using her materials.
In early August, operatives from the Center for Combating Extremism (Center 'E') conducted a 'room inspection' at Sibireva's home, seizing equipment and books. At the time, they mentioned 'possible cooperation with an undesirable organization' but did not name it.
On August 17, Sibireva appeared at the Naro-Fominsk city prosecutor's office under a summons. From the decision to open a case, she learned that the organization in question is the International Alliance for Freedom of Religion (MARS), which was designated 'undesirable' in 2024. A court date for the administrative case has not yet been set.
The basis for the accusation is that the alliance, in some of its documents, cited Sibireva's annual reports on freedom of conscience in Russia for 2024 and 2025. These were published on the Sova center's website. The decision does not include links to MARS resources with the report titles, but the center suggests they may be in other case materials.
Sova emphasizes that neither the expert nor the center has ever interacted with MARS. The center notes this may be the first case where a person is accused of cooperating with an organization solely because that organization cited their public materials.
The center considers the accusations baseless and contrary to 'both the letter of the law and common sense.' It noted that under such an approach, anyone could be deemed 'cooperating,' including any Russian media outlet whose text such an organization decides to mention on its website. Meanwhile, on Sova's website, MARS is mentioned only in connection with its 'undesirable' designation and without evaluative judgments.