Expulsion or threat of expulsion from premises • Two trade unions were expelled by the authorities from their premises, and documents were destroyed. The police allegedly appeared without prior notice, and staff were prevented from entering the building. The police were enforcing a court decision involving property seized by the former communist government. The government had promised to find another solution besides expulsion.77 • There were allegations that the office (occupied for almost 30 years) of the local union of journalists – an NGO critical of government pressure on independent journalism – was being sold to a private third party.78 Raids • The office of an NGO defending the rights of LGBT people was raided by about a dozen police officers in plain clothes. Their warrant cited suspicion that the organization was facilitating “prostitution, [acting] as a go-between [and providing] a place for [prostitution]”. After a two-hour search, the officers took a list of the organization’s members, along with records of its decisions and other documents. The organization’s property has still not been returned.79 • Police raided the offices of a trade union, reportedly without a search warrant; arrested several of its activists; and sealed or confiscated its equipment and documents. The detainees were later summoned to court for alleged hooliganism.80 • The offices of a human rights NGO were raided by police, and its computers and software were confiscated. The homes of several of its members were subsequently raided as well.81 did not attempt to close down the International Youth Movement. However, the case in question concerns another organization called the Youth Human Rights Movement that is registered with the Nizhny Novgorod Department of the Federal Registration Service and that did not provide information about its activities. A warning was sent to the address of the latter organization in November 2006. In May 2007, the Nizhny Novgorod Department of the Federal Registration Service applied to the relevant court with a request to shut down the organization. The court decided in favour of the closure, and the NGO was removed from the registry of NGOs. 77 Case of Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania and the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (Albania), “Albania: Police destroy trade union offices”, International Trade Union Confederation, 3 August 2007. 78 Case of Independent Union of Journalists (Russian Federation), “Government steps up pressure to close down journalists’ union”, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, 27 February 2008. 79 Case of the Lambda Istanbul Cultural Centre (Turkey), “Turkey: end harassment of gay rights group”, Human Rights Watch, 16 April 2008. 80 Case of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (Belarus), “Urgent appeal: Condemnation of a police raid”, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 11 December 2007. 81 Case of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation for the Promotion of Tolerance (Russian Federation), “New acts of harassment against Stanislaw Dmitrievsky and two Moscow-based NGOs”, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 11 April 2008; “Russia: Raid on the office of Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Support Tolerance”, Front Line, 16 April 2008. The government of the Russian Federation noted that the relevant authorities conduct regular inspections of organizations and companies regarding copyright issues. In 2007, 47 organizations were inspected in Nizhny Novgorod, including the Foundation for the Promotion of Tolerance. The inspection revealed that four computers had unlicensed software installed. The relevant prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation into this case. 20