by Daily Mail Staff
Russia provoked fury yesterday by claiming jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was a US agent.
A Moscow court declared his political party ‘extremist’ and banned groups founded by the activist, pictured, in the latest move to silence opponents of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The Moscow City Court’s ruling prevents anyone associated with Mr Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and his regional network from seeking public office.
The ‘extremism’ label also carries lengthy prison terms for those who have worked with the organisations, donated to them or even simply shared the groups’ materials.
Amid condemnation over the court ruling from Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the EU and the US, the Kremlin said Washington was quick to comment because the jailed critic was in fact working for them.
Navalny was arrested in January upon returning from Germany where he spent months recovering from a nerve agent assassination attempt. He was jailed for violating his parole while in hospital.
The US State Department has called the extremist label ‘particularly disturbing’ and said it was part of a pattern of restricting fundamental rights in Russia.
In a radio interview…
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