Moscow:A Moscow court on Wednesday is considering a request by prosecutors to outlaw the organizations founded by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — part of authorities’ efforts to muzzle critics ahead of a crucial parliamentary election in September.
The Moscow City Court is expected to grant the request to designate Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his sprawling network of regional offices across Russia as extremist organizations. In conjunction with a new law, the ruling would bar people associated with the groups from running for public office, derailing hopes by Navalny’s allies to seek parliament seats.
The extremism label also could potentially carry prison terms for activists who have worked with the organizations, anyone who donated to them, and even those who simply shared the groups’ materials. The court is expected to issue its verdict later in the day, according to the lawyers in the case. Navalny’s offices in dozens of Russian regions already shut down in April after the prosecutors issued an injunction to suspend their activities pending the court’s ruling, but the dissident’s associates have vowed to continue their work in different formats.
Read:Moscow court rejects opposition leader Navalny’s appeal
Navalny, the most adamant political foe of President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in January upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months convalescing after a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin — accusations that Russian officials reject. In February, Navalny was given a 2 1/2-year prison term for violating the terms of a suspended sentence from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that he dismissed as politically driven.