No Political Motive Behind Amnesty Int'l Office Sealing in Moscow - Official

The situation around the Amnesty International rights group's office in Moscow, which has been sealed by municipal authorities, has no political motive, Chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the human rights watchdog, its staff found out that the office was sealed off at around 10 a.m. local time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday. The organization said in a statement that it had not received any preliminary warnings.

“One should not see a political problem or someone’s malice here, I have no doubt that this problem will be settled,” Fedotov told Rossiya-24 broadcaster.

Commenting on the situation, Moscow's City Property Department said that the step was undertaken as the organization infringed the terms of the rental contract, failing to pay for the property in time, adding that the watchdog had been informed beforehand.