In response to the recent “inspections” carried out against non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Russia, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has issued a statement describing the actions as “unacceptable,” while calling on society to unite on the issue.

Khodorkovsky writes that the authorities “are destroying the framework of the fledging civil society in the development of which they claim to take so much interest.”

The statement continues: “It’s possible to assume that some government representatives, in their zeal and anger, are acting not only against Russia’s interests but even against their own, possibly without realizing the consequences of their actions.”

Khodorkovsky, who was unlawfully imprisoned almost ten years ago in October 2003, suffered similar raids and harassments against his NGO Open Russia, which was forced to shut down as a result.

Read the full version of the statement in both English and Russian.