Skip to main content

Russian Court Weighs Pre-Election Knockout Blow to Kremlin Critic Navalny's Network


Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally to mark the 5th anniversary of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's murder and to protest against proposed amendments to the country's constitution, in Moscow, Russia February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo


A Russian court on Wednesday began considering a request to declare organisations linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny "extremist", a move that if approved would ban his allies from a parliamentary election later this year too.


The case, the latest chapter in a long-running crackdown on President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic opponent, could deliver a final hammer blow to a vast political network that Navalny built up over years to try to challenge the veteran Russian leader's grip on power.


The case is being brought by the office of Moscow's top prosecutor who has accused Navalny and his allies of trying to foment a revolution by seeking to destabilize the socio-political situation inside Russia with their activity.


The legal offensive mirrors ones waged in the past against far-right groups, Islamist organizations and the Jehovah's Witnesses which were declared "extremist" by courts and banned.


Navalny and his allies have denied the prosecutor's allegations, casting them as an attempt to try to crush their political opposition to the ruling United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections in September, Reuters reported.


The staff of Ivan Pavlov, one of Navalny's lawyers, wrote on social media they expected the court to issue a verdict later on Wednesday.


The prosecutor's request, if approved by the court, would formally end the activity of a network of groups set up by Navalny, 45, who is serving a 2-1/2 year jail term for parole violations related to an embezzlement conviction he says was trumped up.


Specifically, it would target Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation which has produced high-profile investigations into alleged official corruption, and Navalny's regional campaign headquarters which have mobilized in the past to organize anti-Kremlin protests.


If Russia declares the foundation and regional groups extremist, the authorities would gain the formal power to jail activists and freeze their bank accounts. The case has already prompted Navalny's allies to disband the groups.


In the run-up to the hearing, Putin last week signed legislation that bars members of "extremist" organizations from running for office.


Given the court is widely expected to label Navalny's organizations extremist, the new legislation is seen as ending hopes by some Navalny allies to run for parliament later this year.


They say they will try to use a smart or tactical voting strategy instead to seek to undermine support for the pro-Kremlin ruling party, a strategy Kremlin sources have belittled.

Labels:
Location: Rusya

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US to Take Steps against White Supremacists and Militia Groups

A helicopter flies above the US Capitol during the dress rehearsal ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration in Washington, US, January 18, 2021. Rod Lamkey/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Five months after the attack on the US Capitol, the Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil new steps to combat the "elevated threat" posed by domestic terrorism, but will not - for now - seek legislation to battle home-grown threats. Instead, in a national strategy to be publicly unveiled by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, the administration is seeking increased information sharing, additional resources to identify and prosecute threats, and new deterrents to prevent Americans from joining dangerous groups, Reuters reported. The new approach comes after the administration conducted a sweeping assessment earlier this year of domestic terrorism that labeled white supremacists and militia groups as top national security threats. The issue took on new urgency after the Jan....
Post a Comment
Read more

G7 to Provide 1 bn Covid Vaccine Doses 'to World’

A meeting of finance ministers from across the G7 nations ahead of the G7 leaders' summit, at Lancaster House in London, Britain June 4, 2021. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Pool via REUTERS G7 leaders will agree to expand global Covid vaccine manufacturing to provide at least one billion doses to the world through sharing and financing schemes, Britain said Thursday. The announcement came after the United States said it would donate 500 million jabs to 92 poor and lower-middle-income nations. The UK, which is hosting the big powers' gathering in southwest England, added it would donate at least 100 million surplus doses within the next year, including five million beginning in the coming weeks. The commitments follow growing calls for richer countries to step up their efforts to share Covid-19 shots with less developed nations, with charities warning the current situation is leading to "vaccine apartheid". Britain, which has orders for more than 400 million doses, has faced...
Post a Comment
Read more

China Urges NATO to Stop Exaggerating 'China Threat Theory'

The Chinese flag is raised in front of the China Pavilion during a flag raising ceremony at the Shanghai World Expo site in Shanghai April 30, 2010. (Reuters) China's mission to the European Union urged NATO on Tuesday to stop exaggerating the "China threat theory" after the group's leaders warned that the country presents "systemic challenges". NATO leaders on Monday had taken a forceful stance towards Beijing in a communique at United States President Joe Biden's first summit with the alliance. "China's stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security," NATO leaders had said. The new US president has urged his fellow NATO leaders to stand up to China's authoritarianism and growing military might, a change of focus for an alliance created to defend Europe from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The NATO statement "slandered...
Post a Comment
Read more