MOSCOW, April 29 (RAPSI) – Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said on Tuesday that NGOs should be put on the foreign agents list not only on a voluntary request, but on a court order as well.

During his address to the Upper house of Russian parliament, the Federation Council, Chaika said that so far only one NGO came forward to register as a “foreign agent”.  According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, however, currently more than 20 NGOs which operate in Russia can be classified as “foreign agents”.

A law regarding NGOs which receive foreign funding took effect in November 2012. It relegates politically active NGOs with foreign sources of funding to a registry of "foreign agents." Once registered, these NGOs face heightened scrutiny. They are required to file regular disclosures with the government and to mark all materials disseminated through major channels as the product of a "foreign agent." The law also requires NGOs to publish a biannual performance report and to carry out an annual financial audit.