The imprisoned critic of the Kremlin appeared very emaciated and exhausted today Alexei NavalnHe went on a hunger strike to denounce Russia’s judiciary and his allies said he was facing new criminal charges and that he was breaking up the network with regional activists’ offices.
In his first appearance since last week, when he said he was ending a three-week hunger strike, Navalny, with a shaved head, remained irreconcilable, albeit in videotape from prison during the hearing, in a separate case of defamation of a World War II veteran, he looked noticeably emaciated.
According to one of his lawyers, as reported by AMPE, Navalny now weighs 72 kg from 94 kg when he returned to Russia in January.
After weeks of growing pressure, his allies announced that they were dismantling his network of activist offices across Russia as a court considered whether it would declare the network and its Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) “extremist organizations.”
“We are officially dismantling Alexei Navalny’s network,” Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s close allies, said in a video posted on social media.
If the network is declared extremist, the authorities will have the legal power to impose prison sentences on activists and ‘freeze’ bank accounts. At the same time, about 30 other organizations that have been outlawed will be added to the list Russia such as Islamic State and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The court announced today that it will hold the next hearing in this case on May 17.
“It is impossible to keep Navalny’s office network in its current form: it would lead directly to criminal penalties for those who work at headquarters, for those who work with them and for those who help them.” said Leonid Volkov in a video on YouTube.
He said that many of the offices will try to function as exclusively independent regional structures, which will be under their own heads.
It has already been partially banned on FBK to have access to his bank accounts as well as to organize demonstrations and publish articles in the media.
Navalny’s allies said he had opened a new criminal case against him for setting up a non-profit organization that violated citizens’ rights.
Navalny, 44, is serving a 2-1 / 2 year prison sentence for violating the terms of his previous sentence, which he said was politically motivated.
He went on a hunger strike in prison on March 31 seeking appropriate medical care for leg and back pain, but on April 23 he announced that he was gradually starting to receive food after receiving medical care.
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