MOSCOW, June 22 (UPI) -- A Russian activist said Friday she became the latest in a series of high-profile resignations from a presidential human rights council.
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, director of the Moscow Helsinki Group, announced she was resigning from the council.
"I left the council, yes. I will submit my resignation today," she was quoted by state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying.
She said she was resigning because of a procedure for vetting new members publicly made the council "unviable," the Russia news service reported.
Yelena Panfilova, director of Transparency International Russia, and political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin are among those who resigned from the presidential council this year.
Oreshkin drafted a report that said 14 percent of the ballots in the March presidential election were stuffed in favor Russian President Vladimir Putin as he pursued a third non-consecutive term in office.
The presidential council has no legal authority. Several members resigned in the wake of State Duma elections in December, which were viewed as tilted in favor of the ruling United Russia party.
