Putin bans “extremists” ahead of Russian elections next fall

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning “terrorists” and “extremists” from participating in the general elections. According to the proposal, leaders of these organizations are banned from standing for five years, and employees are banned for three years.

Experts say Putin wants to make it more difficult for the opposition ahead of parliamentary elections this fall. The announcement came just days before a Russian court decided to classify the organization of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny as an “extremist group”. Reuters writes.

The law is part of a larger campaign against people who oppose the government, says Tatiana Stanovaga, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow think-tank. to CNN.

Navalny turns one

Alexei Navalny also turns 4 in June. His crew says sarcastically Reuters They see the new law as a “birthday gift” for the opposition politician. He has previously been barred from running in elections, including the 2018 presidential election.

In September this year, there are elections to the State Duma, the lower body of the Russian parliament. Earlier this week, the police launched several raids and arrests against opposition politicians in the country. Among others, deputies Andrei Pivovarov and Dmitry Gudkov were arrested. The latter was released on Thursday, but Pivarov remains in detention.

Pifarov is accused of collaborating with an “unpleasant organization” and faces several years in prison. The European Commission has demanded his release, TT wrote.