It provides legal advocacy for victims of suspected human rights abuses by government officials such as police, military and prison officers, with a particular focus on journalists, political activists, bloggers and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
On 4 June 2009 the Ministry of Justice included AGORA on the list of independent legal experts mandated to oversee the drafting of anti-corruption legislation.
Vladimir Lukin, the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, also referred to as the Ombudsman, has spoken positively about Agora's work on more than one occasion.
The human rights activists concluded that our courts have, in fact, shown a willingness to fundamentally assess hate crimes committed on nationalistic grounds, are gradually learning to distinguish between neo-Nazis and anti-fascists, and are refusing to recognize the highly questionable claims of law enforcement and government officials to be treated as 'social groups'.
For example, the courts have begun to take more adequate measures when dealing with aggressive nationalists, Nazis and some other destructive social elements.Chief Editor of Novaya Gazeta Dmitry Muratov in the program Minority Report on Echo of Moscow, 20 July 2009:[17] "I can tell you that 'Agora' and the Kazan Human Rights Center are committed to protecting Russian citizens from abuses by law enforcement.
The article also alleges that Agora, through its activities in support of HIV-positive Russians, lobbied for the introduction of methadone replacement therapy, which is currently illegal and widely opposed in Russia.
In response to a query by police Lieutenant General V. K. Davydov, FSKN head Vladimir Rosinski said "Our investigation shows that the Inter-regional Association of Human Rights Organizations "Agora" does not engage in propaganda in support of drug legalization and the introduction of replacement therapy (methadone)".
[32] It acted on a finding by Russia's Justice Ministry that Agora had engaged in "political activity," since it was attempting to "influence public opinion" through its work.
[35] On June 19, 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation designated the international human rights group “Agora” as undesirable.