Russian Prosecutors Seek to Label Navalny Groups as 'Extremist'

[Rogue Valley]

Russian Prosecutors Seek to Label Navalny Groups as 'Extremist' - The Moscow Times

Russian prosecutors on Friday asked a Moscow court to designate organizations linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as "extremist" in a move that could ban them in Russia and result in jail time for their members.

www.themoscowtimes.com

4/16/21
Russian prosecutors on Friday asked a Moscow court to designate organizations linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as "extremist" in a move that could ban them in Russia and result in jail time for their members. They requested that Navalny's network of regional offices and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) be added to the list of "terrorist and extremist" organizations run by Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee. "Under the disguise of liberal slogans, these organizations are engaged in creating conditions for the destabilization of the social and socio-political situation," the Moscow prosecutor's office said in a statement. It also accused the organizations of creating conditions for "changing the foundations of the constitutional order" and called their activities "undesirable." Navalny's supporters have faced increasing pressure in recent months after the opposition politician returned to Russia in January from Germany.

"Putin has just announced full-scale mass political repression in Russia," key aide and head of Navalny's regional network Leonid Volkov wrote on Twitter shortly after the announcement from prosecutors. In a statement on Facebook, Volkov and FBK director Ivan Zhdanov said they had no doubts about the ruling that a "Putin's court" will make but said they will continue their work "peacefully, publicly and effectively." Founded in 2011, FBK has already had its assets frozen in 2019 and received multiple fines over non-compliance with Russia's "foreign agent" law. FBK has published numerous investigations into the wealth of Russia's elite, usually accompanying by YouTube videos. Navalny's allies and organizations are subject to frequent police raids and arrests over their political activities. Earlier on Friday, a Moscow court sentenced to two years in jail a Navalny ally working for FBK over the publication of "extremist" tweets.

The mighty Russian government is afraid of a small group of peaceful activists.