MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Prosecutors have asked the Memorial Human Rights Center for financial documents related to the release of a reference book for prospective applicants to the European Court of Human Rights.

The 379-page reference book was written by Memorial's London partner - a lawyer whose focus is appeals to the European Court, Memorial leader Oleg Orlov told Interfax on Monday.

He said they presented the financial documents to the Tverskoi prosecutor's office in Moscow, but "district and city prosecutors could not tell us why the request was made. They only said that the Prosecutor General's Office was investigating the release of the reference book."

"This is rather strange. So far, I do not view this situation as an attempt to put pressure on Memorial and the civil society. This is rather an odd case," Orlov said.

"However, we do not rule out anything."

Orlov recalled that the Civil Assistance Human Rights Committee led by Memorial Board member Svetlana Gannushkina received a warning from the Moscow prosecutor's office several days ago.

The committee was warned of the unacceptability of violating federal laws, including those concerning refugees, displaced persons and foreigners, Gannushkina said.