Russia Punishes Independent Researcher for Being Cited

Click to expand Image Olga Sibireva. Private Those reporting on Russia are rarely surprised these days to learn that another critic of the Russian government is being prosecuted over alleged involvement with a "foreign undesirable organization." But even in Russia, the case against Olga Sibireva rises to new heights of absurdity. Sibireva is an expert on religious freedom at SOVA Center, a leading independent Russian think tank researching racism, xenophobia, ultra-nationalism, and the authorities' abuse of counter-extremism and counterterrorism legislation. This week, a Russian court found Sibireva guilty of cooperating with the Internation…