Russia: Alexei Navalny indicted with a new charge punishable by prison
Alexei Navalny at an opposition rally in Moscow on February 29, 2020. REUTERS - Shamil Zhumatov
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a penal colony for a fraud case, has been charged with "
undermining the identity and rights of citizens
", announced Wednesday 11 August investigators.
An offense punishable by three years in prison.
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The Russian Investigative Committee accuses Alexeï Navalny of having created an organization that violated the rights of the Russians.
In question: its Fund for the fight against corruption (FBK) "
incited citizens to commit illegal acts
", in particular by "
calling them to participate in unauthorized gatherings
".
The FBK and the other organizations of the opponent were designated as "
extremists
" in June
by the Russian courts and officially banned in early August.
According to the Investigation Committee, the opponent and his collaborators "
organized the dissemination on their personal pages on the internet and on the pages of the FBK [...] of publications calling on Russian citizens to participate in unauthorized gatherings in January
», When several demonstrations of support for Alexeï Navalny had taken place to protest against his arrest.
Investigators estimated that "
Navalny was aware in advance of the illegal nature
" of these demonstrations.
"
Obstruction of the opposition
" before the legislative elections in September
The opponent's movement has faced unprecedented pressure since returning to Russia in January after several months of convalescence in Germany for suspected poisoning of which he accuses the Kremlin.
Its organizations have been liquidated,
websites
linked to it have been blocked by order of the authorities and several of its
employees are targeted
by various legal proceedings.
Navalny's allies denounce all these measures as intended to hamper the activities of the opposition in the run-up to the legislative elections in September, against a backdrop of the growing unpopularity of the ruling party.
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To read also: Repression in Russia: "An authoritarian explosion to break the opposition" (Interview)
(With
AFP
)
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Russia
Alexei Navalny
Human rights
Justice