Earlier this month Russian prosecutors filed a lawsuit to close down the independent human rights organization. The hearing will be heard on Thursday (November 25), the BBC reported. 

"We greatly appreciate the dedication and determination of Memorial staff to commemorate the victims of Soviet crimes perpetrated against the Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian nations, as well as against millions of Russians, Ukrainians and people of other nationalities," the presidents said in a statement.

They expressed admiration for Russian citizens who are "ready to tell the whole truth about an inconvenient history and human rights violations committed by totalitarian regimes".

This work is an important contribution to the European collective memory, they added.

The presidents have also agreed to strengthen cooperation to fight "the falsification of history, disinformation and historical revisionism".

"We will stand together to ensure historical remembrance of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes," the statement said.

The statement was issued by President of Estonia Alar Karis, President of Latvia Eglis Levits, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda and President of Poland Andrzej Duda.

Karis posted a short version of the statement on social media.

We, the Presidents of #Poland, #Lithuania, #Latvia and #Estonia express our concern regarding historical revisionism in #Russia and specifically the possible closure of #Memorial.

— Alar Karis (@AlarKaris) November 25, 2021

Memorial was founded in 1992 and is Russia's oldest civil rights group. It aims to restore historical truth and remember the victims of political repressions of totalitarian regimes.

The NGO joins a growing list of investigative news outlets, journalists and rights organizations to have been labelled a foreign agent by Russia this year, the BBC said.

The full joint statement can be read below:

"We, the Presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia express our concern regarding historical revisionism in Russia and specifically the possible closure of Memorial.

"Memorial is one of the oldest independent organizations involved in defending human rights in Russia and documenting Stalinist crimes across the whole former Soviet area. We greatly appreciate the dedication and determination of Memorial staff to commemorate the victims of Soviet crimes perpetrated against the Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian nations, as well as against millions of Russians, Ukrainians and people of other nationalities. We are full of admiration for the work of Russian citizens who are ready to tell the whole truth about an inconvenient history and human rights violations committed by totalitarian regimes. This work is an important contribution to the European collective memory.

"We, the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, have agreed to strengthen cooperation in fighting the falsification of history, disinformation and historical revisionism. We will stand together to ensure historical remembrance of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes."

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