Russia: justice designates as "extremist" organizations of Alexeï Navalny
"We will not back down," reacted the imprisoned opponent Alexeï Navalny (here on February 20, 2021) after this judgment.
AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The Russian justice designated this Wednesday, June 9 as "extremist" the organizations of the imprisoned opponent Alexeï Navalny, a measure allowing their liquidation and increased repression of his supporters in the run-up to the legislative elections in September.
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A few months before the legislative elections in September, a Moscow court on Wednesday ordered the liquidation of
Alexeï Navalny's organizations
, in particular his Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK), known for its resounding investigations into the lifestyle and embezzlement of Russian elites, and its regional offices, which deal with organizing demonstrations and electoral campaigns.
"
It was recognized that these organizations not only voluntarily disseminated information inciting hatred and hostility towards the representatives of power, but also committed extremist crimes and offenses
," said a representative of the prosecution after the announcement of decision.
The Komanda 29 team, which notably defended the FBK, announced its intention to appeal the decision. His lawyers denounced in a press release "
a closed-door trial with certain documents classified" secret "
. “
At the last hearing, all the defense requests were dismissed and no sufficient evidence of guilt was presented,
” they said. The prosecution for its part welcomed a judgment "
legal and justified
".
This judgment, at the end of a closed hearing, comes after months of repression targeting the Russian opposition, marked by the sending of Alexeï Navalny, 45, to a penal colony, the exile of several cadres of his movement, but also measures targeting the independent press and other critical voices.
Alexeï Navalny "will not back down"
A message published Wednesday evening on Alexeï Navalny's Instagram account called on his supporters to continue to support him, and to join his team's voting instructions for the legislative elections in the fall.
“
We will manage, we will evolve, we will adapt.
But we will not shrink from our goals and our ideas.
This is our country and we have no other
”, we still read.
►
To read also: Three days in the life of Alexeï Navalny
Britain quickly called the Russian court's decision "
perverse
."
"
This is a new Kafkaesque attack on those who stand up against corruption and for open societies, and a deliberate attempt to effectively outlaw the real opposition in Russia,
" the Minister of Affairs said Foreign Dominic Raab in a statement.
The outcome of this procedure left little doubt.
It comes a little more than a month after the registration of Alexey Navalny's network of regional offices on the list of "extremist" organizations of the financial monitoring service.
Following this decision, the network proceeded to self-dissolution to avoid prosecution of its members.
Justice on Wednesday ordered the liquidation of the remaining organizations, including the FBK.
The collaborators of formations considered "extremist" risk in Russia of heavy prison sentences and are deprived of participation in the elections since a law promulgated last week by President Vladimir Poutine.
For the opposition, this text aims to neutralize the dangerous candidates for power before the legislative elections in September, which promise to be delicate for the Kremlin party, United Russia, which is declining in the polls in a context of economic stagnation.
(
With
AFP)
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Russia
Justice
Alexei Navalny