Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, already imprisoned for fraud, was charged on Wednesday with another offense punishable by three years in prison, a further coup by the authorities in the run-up to the legislative elections in September.

This indictment comes after months of efforts by the Russian authorities to liquidate the movement of Alexei Navalny, whose organizations have been declared "extremist" by the courts and banned, and whose several collaborators and relatives are targeted in various legal cases.

Indicted for "infringing the identity and rights of citizens"

Anti-corruption activist and bête noire of the Kremlin, Alexeï Navalny, 45, is now indicted for "undermining the identity and rights of citizens" because his Fund for the fight against corruption (FBK) "incited citizens to commit acts illegal ”, in particular by“ calling them to participate in unauthorized gatherings ”.

According to the Russian 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 in support of Alexeï Navalny had taken place to protest his arrest.

A "stupid" accusation

"Navalny was aware in advance of the illegal nature" of these gatherings, investigators said.

The opponent's team for its part denounced on Telegram a "stupid" accusation, once again calling on the Russians to "vote smart" in September by giving their voice to the candidate best placed to beat that of power in the absence of candidates from the formation of the number 1 opponent of the Kremlin.

"No one undermines the identity and rights of citizens like (President Vladimir) Putin himself and all his henchmen," quipped the opponent's team.

"The only rights that we want to violate are those (...) that these thieves invented for themselves: infinite power, the possibility of stealing our money from the budget and not taking into account the opinion of the citizens", a she added.

Unprecedented pressures

The movement of Alexei Navalny faces unprecedented pressure since the return of the opponent to Russia in January, after several months of convalescence in Germany for a poisoning of which he accuses the Kremlin.

Its organizations were liquidated at the beginning of August after being designated "extremists", websites linked to it were blocked by order of the authorities and several of its employees are targeted by various legal proceedings ranging from violations "to health standards" to funding of "extremist" organizations.

For the West and human rights NGOs, these detractors of the Russian system are victims of political prosecution.

Europeans and Americans have also imposed sanctions on Russian officials.

Hamper the opposition

Known for his anti-corruption investigations targeting elites, Alexeï Navalny is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year prison colony sentence for a fraud case dating back to 2014, which he considers political.

Its allies denounce all these measures as being intended to hamper the activities of the opposition, particularly in the run-up to the legislative elections in September.

Due to the risk of imprisonment, several relatives of Alexeï Navalny have left the country in recent months while the crackdown has also affected other opponents wishing to stand for election and independent media.

This election is also taking place against a backdrop of the unpopularity of the ruling United Russia party, economic stagnation, voter fatigue and repeated corruption scandals.

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