Russian Community Council Hopes FBI Drops Probe Over FARA Concerns - Chair

Russian Community Council Hopes FBI Drops Probe Over FARA Concerns - Chair

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2021) The Russian Community Council of the USA (RCC) hopes the American intelligence community drops its investigation of Russian community members over concerns related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Chair Elena Branson told Sputnik.

The RCC announced on Thursday that it was temporarily suspending all activities due to an FBI probe into alleged FARA violations that targeted members of the Russian community in the US. FARA is a US law passed in 1938 requiring anyone representing the interests of foreign powers in a political or quasi-political capacity to disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances.

In a statement published on their website, RCC notes that FARA has on multiple occasions been criticized for its selective enforcement and targeting of individuals and organizations for engaging with countries that are out of favor with the US government.

"We hope that the intelligence community will sort out the situation and come to the realization that individuals who organize Russian cultural events and openly advocate for more dialogue and people-to-people ties with Russia are not foreign agents," said Branson.

The RCC statement mentions that the FBI questioned several hundred members of the Russian community across the country, including students and seniors, and refers to the measure as "a form of pressure reminiscent of the Cold War era."

Branson says her home was raided by the FBI last fall.

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