Russia has added jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and several of his allies to its list of “terrorists and extremists.”
The entries for Navalny and five of his associates — Lyubov Sobol, Vyacheslav Gimadi, Georgy Alburov, Lilia Chanysheva, and Ruslan Shaveddinov — appeared in the register of Rosfinmonitoring on January 25, putting them on the same level as right-wing nationalist groups and foreign terrorist organizations such as the Taliban and Islamic State.
According to Russian law, the bank accounts of individuals added to the list must be frozen immediately.
Less than two weeks ago, two other close associates of Navalny — Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov — were added to the list.
Last year, the Moscow City Court declared all organizations linked to Navalny as extremist, preventing people associated with Navalny and his network of regional offices across Russia from seeking public office.
The ruling also carries possible lengthy prison terms for activists who have worked with the organizations.
Navalny himself has been in prison since February 2021 after he was arrested the month prior upon returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been undergoing treatment for a near-fatal poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has denied any role in Navalny’s poisoning.
