Extremist community

The prosecutor requested for politician Alexei Navalny (included in the list of terrorists and extremists) 20 years in prison in a strict regime colony, TASS informs with reference to the message of the lawyer of the oppositionist Olga Mikhailova. article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Navalny is charged with six more episodes of the Criminal Code.

The Moscow City Court is due to announce the verdict on August 4 at an offsite hearing in correctional colony No. 6 in the Vladimir Region, where Navalny is currently serving a 9-year sentence in a previous criminal case. The meeting was scheduled to start at 4:00 pm. The trial is being held in IK-6 behind closed doors due to fears of provocations against the participants in the trial. Andrey Suvorov will be the judge. He considered the cases of Inter RAO top manager Karina Tsurkan and American Paul Whelan, who were sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison, respectively, on charges of espionage. The prosecutor demanded for him 10 years in prison to be served in a strict regime colony. Kholodny has been in jail since March 2022.

7 episodes under 6 articles

In total, according to the Navalny Team, the oppositionist is charged with seven episodes under six articles of the Criminal Code: the creation of an extremist community (part 3 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code), public calls for extremism (part 2 of article 280 of the Criminal Code and part 1 of article 280 of the Criminal Code), the creation of a non-profit organization ( NPO) infringing on the rights of citizens (part 2 of article 239 of the Criminal Code), financing of extremist activities (part 2 of article 282.3 of the Criminal Code), as well as the involvement of minors in the commission of dangerous acts (clauses “a”, “b” and “c” of part 2 of article 151.2 of the Criminal Code) and the rehabilitation of Nazism (part 3 of article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). Judicial proceedings on these grounds began in May 2023.

Navalny announced the initiation of a case on extremism in mid-autumn 2022. According to investigators, Navalny created an extremist community in 2014 to undermine the integrity of the state and the constitutional order of Russia. Funding, investigators believe, was conducted through eight NPOs – various firms and foundations. In particular, the American billionaire Warren Buffett is listed as a sponsor in the case file.

As explained by the director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations that act as a foreign agent, recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia) (FBK) Ivan Zhdanov (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation), episodes about the creation of extremist communities and the financing of extremism are connected with the work of the FBK and collecting donations for the work of organizations created by Alexei Navalny. The case of involving under 18s in dangerous acts relates to the participation of several minors in protest actions organized by the foundation.

IK No. 6

Navalny was sent to a penal colony in the Yves Rocher case (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud”) in February 2021. The politician was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and 8 months under this article. In March 2022, Navalny was again found guilty under an article on fraud, and then of insulting a judge, he was sentenced to 9 years in a strict regime colony (according to the totality of crimes) and sent to colony No. 6 in the Vladimir Region.

On July 20, it became known that representatives of the leadership of correctional colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region were included in the EU sanctions list.

According to a statement published on the EU website, the alliance imposed sanctions against 18 individuals and five legal persons in connection with “their responsibility for serious violations and abuses of human rights in Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Ukraine and Russia“. Restrictive measures have been extended, including against persons associated with the cases of Navalny and opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation).