Russian security officers armed with automatic rifles on Wednesday searched the Moscow offices of a rights group that represents the interests of Russian nationals in the European Court of Human Rights, the group said.
Members of theFederal Security Service (FSB) searched an office used by Justice Initiativeand its partner organisation Astreya and confiscated the telephones ofemployees and photographed their passports, the group's spokeswoman said.
The FSB sought accessto an office used by the group's director, but was not allowed in, KseniaBabich said, adding that the security officers did not give an explanation forthe search.
She said it beganafter officers searched a neighbouring office in the same building used by aunrelated auditing company.
Justice Initiative has offices in the North Caucasus in southern Russia and has helped hundreds of Russian citizens file cases over rights violations at the European Court of Human Rights.
President VladimirPutin has tightened controls on non-governmental organisations, requiring thosewith foreign funding to register as "foreign agents", and introducinglegislation outlawing groups seen as "undesirable."
The FSB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
