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, in a statement on April 17. She called the possible move “one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russia’s post-Soviet 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. The ruling on the motion is expected later on Monday. The injunction from the prosecutor’s office was posted on social media by Navalny’s allies, who reject the accusations and insist the actions are politically motivated. “It’s a total travesty of justice and lawlessness once again in Putin’s Russia,” said top Navalny associate Lyubov Sobol. The prosecutor’s office said Monday it resorted to these measures because “leaders and members” of the foundation and Navalny’s offices “continue to carry out unlawful activities, for instance, hold unlawful mass public events. … for example, on April 21” — a reference to a wave of nationwide rallies that day supporting Navalny. “They’re just screaming here: We’re scared of your activities, we’re scared of your protests, we’re scared of your Smart Voting,” tweeted Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny’s top ally and director of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption. The Smart Voting project is designed to support candidates who are most likely to beat those backed by United Russia, the party backed by the Kremlin, in various local elections. That plan was successful in some of last year’s regional balloting. Navalny’s foundation opened 10 years ago and has since targeted high-ranking 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. Along with the foundation, Navalny set up a vast network of regional offices in dozens of Russian regions when he was campaigning to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election. He eventually was barred from running but kept the infrastructure in place. Soon, these regional “headquarters” began their own investigations of graft by […]

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