Putin rejects complaints over move to shut top rights group

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has brushed aside complaints about prosecutors’ move to shut down one of the country’s most prominent human rights groups, claiming that it listed Nazi collaborators among the victims of Soviet-era repression. Speaking during a video call Thursday with members of the Kremlin human rights council, Putin responded to their complaints about the action against the Memorial group by asserting it had listed people involved in the killings of Jews during World War II alongside victims of Soviet repression. He didn’t elaborate. Memorial, which rose to prominence for its studies of political repression in the Soviet Union, rejected Putin’s claim as false.