STRASBOURG, October 23. /TASS/. Deputies of the European Parliament on Thursday called on the Russian Justice Ministry to drop a case on the liquidation of the Memorial  human rights organization before the hearings in the Supreme Court.

The Memorial organization plays a key role in developing democratic values and promoting human rights in Russia, according to a resolution approved at the European Parliament plenary session.

A suit claiming Memorial liquidation was filed in Russia’s Supreme Court by the Ministry of Justice over violations exposed in the organization's activity in late 2012. Thus, according to the claim, the organization lacks a nationwide status and it has no documented proof of statutory activity. Moreover, it allegedly does not observe its own charter. The Ministry of Justice twice demanded the organization should remedy breaches but it has failed to do that.

The Supreme Court will consider the claim on November 13. The ministry says however that Memorial still has time to correct deficiencies.

Memorial is Russia’s oldest human rights organization that was founded in the late 1980s. Its initial task was to study the history of political repression in the former Soviet Union. Now it collects and publishes information about violations of human rights in the territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States.