Russia Bars Anti-War Opposition Party From Election
Russia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Yabloko party, the sole officially registered party to openly oppose Moscow's war on Ukraine, against its removal from the ballot for September parliamentary elections. In a separate hearing on August 17, a court in the city of Pskov sentenced an outspoken deputy chairman of Yabloko, Lev Shlosberg, to more than 11 years in prison after…
Russia's highest court has refused to overturn the removal of the opposition Yabloko party from the ballot for September parliamentary elections. The decision comes after Yabloko's deputy chairman, Lev Shlosberg, was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for criticizing the war in Ukraine. This decision reflects the Kremlin's resolve to suppress dissent, especially regarding the conflict.
The upcoming elections are the first since Putin started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Yabloko's co-founder, Grigory Yavlinsky, criticized the court's decision, calling it a "serious deepening crisis in the Russian political system." The party's chairman, Nikolai Rybakov, argued that the court's ruling disregarded the rule of law and the rights of voters who support Yabloko. Yabloko plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court's presidium.
Written by urgent.news from OilPrice's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
