Two leading Russian human-rights organizations plan to fight what they say is a politically motivated effort by the city of Moscow to evict them from downtown offices, the Los Angeles Times reports.

For Human Rights and the Moscow Helsinki Group say the ouster is part of a campaign of harassment stemming from their protests over state violence in Russia’s Caucasus regions, dismal prison conditions, and other issues. City officials said the Helsinki Group’s building is being renovated and that For Human Rights had been “careless tenants” of its space.

The groups have occupied their offices for more than a decade at discount rates under a provision of Russian law that authorized lower rents for nonprofit groups. That provision was repealed in early 2009 but reinstated over the summer.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)