The Purge: ISO Ejects Russian Critic of its Support of Russia, Not Actual Russia

In a stunning move that is likely to raise questions of pro-Putin bias by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) under strongman Secretary-General Sergio Mujica, ISO has ejected longtime expert Alex Ezrakhovich from all committees, according to a post on LinkedIn. The official Australian ISO member organization, Standards Australia, has followed suit and ejected Ezrakhovich from its committees as well.

From Ezrakhovich’s post:

ISO has decided to permanently exclude me from participating on ISO and Standards Australia committees, subcommittees and working groups. One of the main reasons for this is my posts and comments on LinkedIn where I have openly (without violation of LinkedIn rules and ISO guidance) have expressed my opinion regarding ISO position on Russian aggression against Ukraine. I also have commented on ISO TC176 process on inappropriately forcing the next revision of ISO9001.

Ezrakhovich had been active in ISO standards development since the 1990s and participated in developing the IAF’s original series of “Mandatory Documents” used to police accreditation bodies (ABs). A Russian expat living in Australia, Ezrakhovich had been active on ISO/CASCO, the committee for conformity assessment and development of the ISO 17000 series standards, and helped build major certification bodies such as SAI Global.

Critic of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

In recent years, however, Ezrakhovich became openly critical of both ISO and the IAF, and was working to restore the trust of ISO 9001 and other such standards. He decried the growing influence of consultants on ISO technical committees, many of which he deemed unqualified to be writing standards. Ezrakhovich also indicated his frustration with the IAF peer evaluation process, intended to ensure accreditation bodies comply with ISO 17011, based on his own experiences of being assessed by “incompetent” peer assessors.

The purge comes as ISO claims complaints filed against Ezrakhovich’s social media posts forced their hand. Ezrakhovich insists there were no violations of ISO’s official policy on social media activity.

It is also important to mention that I did NOT break the specific rules and ISO’s guidance on social media and communication. I did not post my comments invoking my title or role within any ISO committee, and were clear that these were my opinions. I likewise did not post any internal ISO information. Instead, ISO decision was based on alleged “complaints” without evidence, and then claimed only vague violations of ISO rules, without citing the specific rules I am alleged to have broken.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ezrakhovich became more vocal on social media. A virulent critic of Vladimir Putin, Ezrakhovich openly demanded that ISO, ILAC, and the IAF take action to honor international sanctions and eject Russia from their membership. Those organizations have resisted, citing “neutrality policies” as they disregard international law to continue to prop up Russia and Putin.

ISO’s social media policy allows TC and other representatives to post their views, provided they do not do so using their official titles, or misleading readers into believing they are official ISO positions. There is no evidence that Ezrakhovich ever did so.

Selective Purge

ISO previously feigned powerlessness when a Russian executive from Gazprom — which is under specific international sanctions for its role in the Ukraine invasion — was elected to head an ISO subcommittee on arctic oil and gas operations.

Likewise, ISO has not taken action against Etty Feller, the head of Israel’s laboratory accreditation agency and a CASCO committee member. Feller has been vocal on social media against Palestine, since the bombing by Hamas in Israel. Palestine has not been admitted into ILAC, which Fetter also heads, suggesting she may be exercising her political opinions for more than just social media posts.

Most notably, ISO has not taken action against Nigel Croft, despite an official Oxebridge complaint showing evidence of actual violations by Croft of those policies. For years, Croft had used social media to post inside information about ISO workings and used his titles within ISO committees to promote his consulting firm, The Croft Global Alliance. Croft also leaked internal ISO memos for over ten years, and attempted to convince me to write a “hit piece” on at least one other TC 176 representative.

A menacing social media post by Croft, in which he threatened critics by saying ISO “leadership knows who you are,” suggests he may have had a role in the Ezrakhovich ouster. Previously, Croft attempted to convince Oxebridge to run “hit pieces” on another TC 176 member, Baskar Kotte, but Oxebridge refused. Kotte was later ejected from the US TAG to TC 176, again suggesting Croft was behind the move.

The ISO TMB claims to be processing the complaint against Croft, but Croft’s ongoing social media presence and heightened roles in ISO activities suggest they have already thrown out the matter.

ISO, under Mujica, has leaned heavily into supporting Russia. Mujica personally congratulated Russia just two weeks after that country’s invasion of Ukraine. ISO TC 176 recently held its annual plenary in Rwanda, which has supported both Russia and China. In 2021, Mujica hired Russian marketing professional Mariya Shabaldina as ISO’s “Regional Coordinator for Europe and Central Asia.”  In 2022, ISO blamed US policies for its inability to remove Russia from its technical committees.

The CEO of Standards Australia, Adrian O’Connell, also sits on the ISO Council, so his career rests at least partially on adhering to Mujica’s political leanings.

In the end, the purge of critics of ISO’s stance on Russia, while refusing to purge Russia itself, will likely only give fuel to those who say that ISO, under the leadership of Chile’s Mujica, has become a puppet for authoritarian dictatorships such as China and Russia.