Russian Court Freezes Navalny Political Movement, Considers Ban

[essentialsaltes]

What a Threat to Free Speech Might Look Like:

A closed-door Moscow court hearing Monday is expected to officially ban the political and anti-corruption networks of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling that would mark the most sweeping attempt to crush the Kremlin's greatest political threat.

The evidence to be used in the case is itself a state secret.

If the court sides with the prosecutor's general request — declaring Navalny's political group and his Anti-Corruption Foundation to be extremist organizations — it would put them alongside the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the eyes of Russian authorities.

The rights group Amnesty International said it would be “one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russia’s post-Soviet history.”

Even selling refrigerator magnets or wearing T-shirts with Navalny’s slogan “Russia will be happy” could bring jail time.

Donating to Navalny’s crowdfunded organizations would be akin to supporting terrorists, with penalties of up to 10 years in jail. Retweeting previous videos by Navalny’s group, exposing the corruption of Russian politicians and bureaucrats, could also mean prison.

 

[Landon Caeli]

What a Threat to Free Speech Might Look Like:

A closed-door Moscow court hearing Monday is expected to officially ban the political and anti-corruption networks of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling that would mark the most sweeping attempt to crush the Kremlin's greatest political threat.

The evidence to be used in the case is itself a state secret.

If the court sides with the prosecutor's general request — declaring Navalny's political group and his Anti-Corruption Foundation to be extremist organizations — it would put them alongside the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the eyes of Russian authorities.

The rights group Amnesty International said it would be “one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russia’s post-Soviet history.”

Even selling refrigerator magnets or wearing T-shirts with Navalny’s slogan “Russia will be happy” could bring jail time.

Donating to Navalny’s crowdfunded organizations would be akin to supporting terrorists, with penalties of up to 10 years in jail. Retweeting previous videos by Navalny’s group, exposing the corruption of Russian politicians and bureaucrats, could also mean prison.

The citizens should protest.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Navalny and his supporters are cancelled. But were forgiven for their past.

 

[7thKeeper]

Navalny and his supporters are cancelled. But were forgiven for their past.

... What?

 

[Landon Caeli]

... What?

They're (former supporters) not being fined or imprisoned for their past involvement with the Navalny Movement... That's what I meant by: "But were forgiven for their past".

 

[essentialsaltes]

They're (former supporters) not being fined or imprisoned for their past involvement with the Navalny Movement... That's what I meant by: "But were forgiven for their past".

Navalny is in prison at this very moment. Some of the people quoted in the article are currently in jail or under house arrest.

 

[grasping the after wind]

If they were spreading disinformation they needed to be stopped. Spreading something that those with the power to censor consider to be disinformation will inevitably cause people to become violet terrorists by acting in the exact same manner as mostly peaceful protesters would act in response to information that was never dis. or even dat . BTW even though sometimes sarcasm ought to be fairly to spot, by forum rules, I must label the previous two sentences as sarcastic.

 

[essentialsaltes]

cause people to become violet terrorists

I confess I am a violet terrorist. Sometimes mauve or indigo.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Navalny is in prison at this very moment. Some of the people quoted in the article are currently in jail or under house arrest.

Good point. Trying to find any kind of silver lining to Russia's behavior, and ultimately failing to come up with anything.

...I hate that these governments have to treat their people like cattle, and I'm thankful I don't have to be a part of that.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Meanwhile, on Parler...

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

How does this differ from the RICO statutes in the US?

 

[essentialsaltes]

LINK

Moscow's chief prosecutor froze the political movement of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny on Monday by suspending activities at his offices across the country, while petitioning a court to do the same for the Anti-Corruption Foundation that he founded.

The decision comes against the backdrop of a pending court decision on whether to designate both Navalny's political and anti-corruption organizations as extremist groups.

 

[variant]

How does this differ from the RICO statutes in the US?

In that they are using them on a political opposition party, for being openly opposed the the ruling party.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

In that they are using them on a political opposition party, for being openly opposed the the ruling party.

Who's they? The US or Russia?

RICO, abortion and free speech

 

[essentialsaltes]

Who's they? The US or Russia?

RICO, abortion and free speech

Clinic bombers are not a political party. Now try to stick to the topic. It shouldn't be hard, since you seem to know a lot about Russia.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Clinic bombers are not a political party. Now try to stick to the topic. It shouldn't be hard, since you seem to know a lot about Russia.

Navalny’s agents are not a registered political party either.

 

[Pommer]

Navalny’s agents are not a registered political party either.

Why’s that?

 

[essentialsaltes]

Why’s that?

Navalny and his allies have long been barred from running for public office. But forcing the movement to disband marks a new, more aggressive chapter in Russia’s political repression.

A Moscow court Wednesday declared the political and anti-corruption networks of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny "extremist" organizations, a move that will essentially crush the most formidable resistance to the Kremlin and force it underground.

The ruling, coming after an all-day closed-door hearing, effectively equates Navalny's political group and his Anti-Corruption Foundation with the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the eyes of Russian authorities.

The evidence used in the case was a state secret.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, called the court ruling “perverse.”

“It is another Kafka-esque attack on those standing up against corruption and for open societies, and is a deliberate attempt to effectively outlaw genuine political opposition in Russia,” said the statement from Raab.

 

[FireDragon76]

In all these discussions, has anybody in the MSM actually discussed what Navalny and his party actually believe in?

According to the Russian state, Navalny is a fascist and his political ideas are not harmless.

I can't confirm that but its surprising there's been so little discussion of the politics beyond "Russia bad".

 

[FireDragon76]

In that they are using them on a political opposition party, for being openly opposed the the ruling party.

Alternatives for Germany is a political party in Germany opposed to the ruling government, but that doesn't mean they support a liberal democratic state.

The US and British governments have a long history of supporting thugs in other countries opposed to governments we don't like, as long as they are "our thug". And we were more than happy to fawn over Solzhenitsyn until he became a critic of American capitalism and secularism, after which we no longer had any use for him. So there's a long history of moral confusion on this issue on the part of western countries, and some skepticism is understandable.

BTW, Amnesty International no longer recognizes Navalny as a prisoner of conscience, due to the fact that AI was inunditade with evidence that Navalny holds nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments. So it's some evidence for Putin's claim that Navalny is an extremist. Whatever merits there is to his "anti-corruption crusade" (which is a classic tactic in Russia, accuse your opponent of weakness or corruption, just as Yeltsin did to Gorbachev, then to become even more corrupt yourself).

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56181084