Russia’s inquiry committee has indicted a new charge against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which his supporters fear could extend Navalny’s detention.
The Committee of Inquiry, which is investigating serious crimes, said it had accused Navalny of creating a non-profit organization that violated citizens’ rights.
Investigators have said that the Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) is encouraging citizens to act illegally and that Navalny has called on Russians to take part in unauthorized protests, even though he was aware of their illegal nature.
In the run-up to Russia’s parliamentary elections in September, the authorities have stepped up pressure on organizations and activists linked to Navalny.
In June, a Moscow court declared extremist organizations and banned organizations related to Navalny – the Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK), the Civil Rights Protection Fund (FZPG) and the public movement Navalny Headquarters. The organizations were accused of planning the uprising with Western support.
In February, Navalni was convicted of violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence imposed on him in 2014 for treatment in Germany following poisoning by a war substance belonging to the Novičok group. Navalni believes that the Kremlin is behind his poisoning.
Navalny has also been the subject of a number of other investigations which he considers to be politically motivated.
In May, Navalny announced that investigators had told him about three new criminal investigations against him.
Russia’s investigative committee this week also indicted two of Navalny’s accomplices, Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, for helping fund organizations that the Russian authorities have identified as extremist. If the court finds them guilty of these charges, the maximum sentence that can be imposed is eight years in prison.-
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