Russian court bans Alexey Navalny’s gang, calling them ‘dangerous’ | Russia News

KUSWA

Opponents have asked the Moscow Supreme Court to name the opposition leader for the Foundation for Fighting Corruption and regional offices as ‘dangerous’ groups.

A Russian court has ruled that organizations were set up by an opposition leader Alexey Navalny, calling them “dangerous”.

The decision of the Moscow City Court on Wednesday, meanwhile, barred allies from the Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption (FBK) and its numerous Russian offices from seeking a government office.

“It has been found that these organizations not only spread a message that promotes hatred and animosity towards government officials, but also acted in a dangerous way,” Opposition spokesman Alexei Zhafyarov said in court.

The sign also means that freedom fighters who have worked with organizations, anyone who has donated to them, and even those who only share the tools of those groups can be prosecuted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Bernard Smith, of Al Jazeera, in Moscow, says the court will deliver its verdict after a “major” meeting that lasted about 13 hours.

He said the election “worked” well “which led the Navalny political party to spend years trying to fight President Vladimir Putin.”

In recent years, FBK has pressured the Kremlin to publish an investigation into high-profile corruption among political leaders. Such programs were also promoted great demonstrations in the street.

The court ruling “puts the Navalny group in the same category in Russia as al-Qaeda, the right groups and Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Smith said ahead of the September elections, Putin himself “is still popular but his United Russia party is not very popular, and there were concerns that it would lose its seats”.

“This is another way to end any threat to them and to reduce their opposition,” he added, noting that Putin’s fighters were now imprisoned, expelled, or sentenced.

“As a result, people who have spoken in Russia against Putin and the ruling party have been left behind.”

Attorney Yevgeny Smirnov also said in the case, which lasted until late in the evening, that what the police wanted to represent them was to prevent Navalny’s colleagues from standing up.

“The case is linked to a law that prohibits all members of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption from being elected,” Smirnov said.

The meeting was held in private in order to explain the divisions. The judge rejected the defense’s request to allow Navalny to participate via a video link in prison and to remove some of his actions.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s political rival, was arrested in January after returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a poisoning charge against the Kremlin – a charge denied by Russian authorities.

In February, a 44-year-old opposition leader was given a two-and-a-half year sentence for violating a sentencing law suspended from a 2014 false conviction he was charged with for political reasons.

Navalny offices in many parts of Russia has already closed in April Attorneys have filed a motion to suspend the proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal, but the opposing leader’s friends have pledged to continue their work in various ways. According to the prosecutor, the factions on Navalny’s side were plotting to overthrow Russia’s political system and push for more radical change.

His foundation, which began 10 years ago, has only been professionally targeted by government officials with a sleek and well-publicized video that exposes the false charges against them. One of his most recent projects, which has received 117 million views on YouTube, claims that the magnificent palace on the Black Sea was built as a result of a bribery scandal. The Kremlin has denied any involvement with Putin.

Navalny also relied on its offices in Russia to stage protests against the Kremlin and to launch its Smart Voting strategy – a task to help the candidates who have won the Kremlin’s largest party in United Russia in various elections.