Russia’s judiciary has finally banned several organizations run by the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny. Among other things, the anti-corruption foundation FBK and the regional staff of the opposition have been classified as extremist, said the Moscow court on Wednesday evening. Nawalny’s supporters had criticized the process as politically motivated. In connection with a newly enacted law, they are no longer allowed to run in the autumn parliamentary elections, among other things.
A few weeks ago, Nawalny’s regional staff was temporarily banned from operating and the activities of his anti-corruption foundation were severely restricted. A few days later, the financial regulator put the regional staff on the list of extremist and terrorist organizations.
Movement is supposed to destabilize the political situation
Nawalny’s supporters complain that the judiciary wants to paralyze the fight against corruption and the street protests before the Duma elections in September. Clear criticism of the actions of the Russian authorities has recently also come from abroad.
From the point of view of the Moscow public prosecutor’s office, Navalny’s movement is destabilizing “the socio-political situation in the country”. She calls for “extremist activities and mass unrest – including attempts to involve minors in illegal acts”. According to Nawalny’s structures, the classification as extremist goes hand in hand with account lockouts, work bans and sealed office space, among other things.
New laws secure Putin’s power
In addition, a new law has been in force for a few days now, which will forbid supporters of extremist associations to run for elections. In view of the foreseeable court decision, Russian opposition members called it the “anti-Navalny law”. Nawalny’s team had nevertheless announced that they did not want to give up. With a view to the Duma election in September, it calls for “smart voting”: Citizens should vote for any candidate – just not for those of the Kremlin party.
It was only in April that tens of thousands of people across the country took to the streets at demonstrations for the 45-year-old imprisoned in the prison camp. There were mass protests as early as January. The popular opposition politician, who barely survived a poison attack last year, has been incarcerated in a prison camp for months. (SDA)