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The opposition party confirmed on Monday that its appeal had failed. Opposition activists said the ban is evidence of the increasing erosion of Russia’s democracy and an attempt to silence opposition to the war in Ukraine.
list 1 of 2Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,317.
list 2 of 2Russia bars only party opposing war in Ukraine from parliamentary vote.
The Supreme Court handed down the ban last week, removing the only registered political party calling for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war from the ballot in September’s parliamentary vote.
The case against Yabloko was filed by Rodina, a small pro-Kremlin nationalist party, which accused Yabloko of being backed by Western countries and seeking to undermine both the election process and Russia itself.
Yabloko rejected the accusations, saying the party represented the views of millions of Russians and the ban effectively stripped away the only option for people opposed to the Ukraine war.
On the same day as the party lost its appeal, another court sentenced Yabloko’s deputy leader Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony for his opposition to the war in Ukraine.
Shlosberg was found guilty of harming the reputation of Russia’s armed forces and lying about them.
The conviction is based on legislation passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which paves the way for lengthy terms for those found guilty of “discrediting” the military or deliberately spreading false information about the war.
As a result, few groups have openly criticised the conflict. But individuals such as Shlosberg, human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov and the late dissident Alexei Navalny spoke out against “tyranny and repression” from the dock with no realistic chance of acquittal.
In a defiant closing speech at the trial, Shlosberg labelled the war as a catastrophe for Russia.
Police detained dozens of supporters and journalists who had come to listen to the court decision and took some to nearby police stations.
In the courtroom, party leader Nikolay Rybakov called the detentions “intimidation”.
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Informação baseada em material público de Al Jazeera, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
