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Supporters of the Russian opposition leader jailed Alexei Navalny say they are facing unprecedented pressure to end their support for President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent, as a Moscow court is about to designate his organization an “extremist” movement at the same level as the al-Qaeda jihadist group.
A court hearing closed on Monday is expected to uphold prosecutors’ request to declare Navalny’s organization “extremist,” a move that would hold it back from funding and could result in ten-year prison sentences for members.
The attack on Navalny’s dozens of offices across Russia “will obviously make his activity impossible,” Leonid Volkov, the opposition leader’s chief of staff to the Financial Times, said.
The “extremist” designation seemed designed to close offices at once, he said.
“It basically forbids them from doing anything,” said Pavel Chikov, head of the legal aid foundation Agora, which represents several people who are being prosecuted after the massive January protests nationwide in support of Navalny.
“It is forbidden to mention any public activity publicly [the group] – It’s basically one step away from saying that mentioning Navalny’s name is extremist. “
Ahead of the long-awaited ruling, activists working for the opposition leader say they are in a state of siege. Some have closed their local offices, while others have begun rubbing their presence on Russian social media owned by Kremlin-friendly companies.
Police have stepped up pressure since the January protests, which called for Navalny’s release from prison, where he is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a case widely seen as an attempt to neutralize his influence. Several have spent short stays in prison, while others say they have faced increasingly severe intimidation tactics.
In Rostov, a town near the border with Ukraine, local office coordinator Ksenia Seredkina said unknown men took her out at midnight and tried to force her to suck a rubber club, scratching her. a letter N to Navalny on the arm. every time he refused.
In Murmansk, someone slipped a target from a shooting range into Violetta Grudina’s mailbox and left her neighbors with warnings that she was “perverting children,” she said.
“I am under fire. How are you supposed to interpret a goal? “said Grudina, who heads Navalny ‘s office in the city on the Barents Sea, 2,000 km north of Moscow.
Since he emerged to lead the anti-Putin opposition in 2011, Navalny has been very willing to take official retaliation. After recovering in Germany from a nerve agent intoxication he alleged that Putin ordered him, he returned to Russia in January, knowing he would be arrested as soon as he arrived.
He had previously spent 13 seasons in prison protesting against the Kremlin, had been physically attacked several times and saw his brother Oleg jailed for three-and-a-half years for fraud, a move Navalny said was a “capture of hostages “.
Over the past decade, Navalny has avoided a de facto blackout in the official media to garner more followers on YouTube than state television and has created a network of offices with nearly 250 employees during a 2017 candidacy to run. se to the presidency.
Putin, who denies any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning, has said the activist is a Western agent pushed to destroy Russia. Last week, in a clear reference to U.S. and EU petitions for Navalny’s release, the president pledged a “Asymmetrical” and “hard” answer if they imposed measures that would cross the “red lines” of Moscow.
The movement against Navalny’s foundation and regional network suggests that the Kremlin wants to definitively silence the opposition leader. Some of his main allies recently fled Moscow to Europe, while police recently arrested several officials from their regional offices and several opposition activists in Moscow. New arrests were made over the weekend.
The situation is particularly harsh for Navalny supporters in regions where there is little or no independent media and few civil society groups pressuring local authorities.
Volkov said the Kremlin wanted to stop Navalny’s “smart vote” strategy for the September parliamentary elections, in which its regional offices endorse candidates from official opposition parties most likely to win the Putin’s United Russia.
“[The Kremlin] they don’t know what to do with their low approval ratings and they are right in thinking that our regional offices can catalyze the vote against them, “Volkov said.” They understand that our anti-corruption investigations will not go away even though they designate it [Navalny’s organisation] extremist, terrorist and satanist “.
Recently, police have shown a growing willingness to extend their focus to supporters of the Navalny base, especially among young people.
Prior to last week’s protest, several said on social media that police had pressured their parents to sign documents indicating they would face criminal charges if their children attended the rally. Other supporters reported receiving threats after an email database was leaked online from Navalny’s website.
In Murmansk, however, Grudina is determined to find a way to continue her activism.
“Would even one of Putin’s supporters go to a protest for him if they knew they would be beaten and thrown in jail or fined per kilometer? No. That’s the difference between us: we sincerely stand for our views.” he said. “We are the last bastion of freedom, honesty and justice.”
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