Network of Putin foe shuttered by Kremlin
MOSCOW — Russian authorities on Monday ordered the offices of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny to halt their activities pending what would be a landmark court ruling on whether they should be outlawed as an extremist group.
The injunction from the Moscow prosecutor’s office was another step in a sweeping crackdown on Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic, and his organizations. The prosecutor’s office petitioned a court this month to label Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and network of regional offices as extremist groups.
It is a major challenge for Navalny’s embattled team, with its leader in prison and dozens of its members under arrest, targeted for raids by law enforcement, or facing criminal charges. Such a label would outlaw their activities and expose members and supporters to lengthy prison terms, according to human rights advocates.
“Tens of thousands of peaceful activists and the staff of Alexei Navalny’s organizations are in grave danger — if their organizations are deemed ‘extremist,’ they will be at imminent risk of criminal prosecution,” said Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director. She called the possible move “one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russia’s postSoviet history.”
The prosecutors also asked a Moscow court to restrict the activities of the foundation by banning it from spreading information in the media, taking part in elections, using banks or organizing public events, according to Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer representing the Foundation.
Navalny’s foundation opened 10 years ago and has since targeted highranking Russian officials with exposes on corruption, many in the form of colorful and widely watched YouTube videos. One of the latest postings, which has received 116 million views, alleges that a lavish palace on the Black Sea shore was built for Putin through an elaborate corruption scheme. The Kremlin has denied there are any links to Putin.
The case against Navalny’s foundation and regional offices will be heard by the Moscow City Court behind closed
doors. It remains unclear what evidence the authorities have against the organizations, because some of the case files contain state secrets, according to Navalny’s allies.