Russian authorities have cracked down on more human rights groups, ordering one to shut down and raiding the homes of advocates from another the latest steps in a clampdown that has intensified to unprecedented levels since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine. Police on Friday on searched the homes of three lawyers with a rights group that advocates against torture and offers legal aid, Team Against Torture. The group said in an online statement that the raids in Nizhny Novgorod, a large city in western Russia, came as part of a criminal probe launched earlier. No other details were given out of concerns for safety of the people the group is helping, the statement said.

On Thursday, a court in Moscow ordered the shutdown of the Sova Center, a prominent non-governmental organization that monitors racism and xenophobia in Russia, as well as implementation of anti-extremism laws. The authorities accused the organization of violating its legal registration in Moscow by participating in events outside the Russian capital. Earlier this year, Russia's oldest rights group " the Moscow Helsinki Group " was shut down over the same violation.