- WorldThe Telegraph
Russia suspends Navalny's political movement as court prepares to declare extremist links
Moscow’s chief prosecutor has temporarily suspended Alexei Navalny’s regional network as authorities seek to reclassify the opposition organisation as an extremist group. At a preliminary hearing on Monday, prosecutors asked the court to prohibit the groups from taking part in elections, organising protests or publishing anything online, said Leonid Volkov, an associate of Mr Navalny's. The injunction is part of the Kremlin’s push to dismantle the entire opposition movement by exposing Mr Navalny's allies and supporters to stiff fines and prison sentences. It comes as several dozen people were detained over the weekend for their alleged participation in nationwide protests last week calling for the outspoken Kremlin critic to be allowed to see a civilian doctor following reports that he was close to death. The demonstrations, which saw thousands take to the streets in dozens of cities across the country last Wednesday, were largely peaceful at the time and resulted in relatively few arrests. But the police have reportedly been using CCTV footage and facial recognition software to detain people after the fact. The injunction issued by the prosecutors on Monday is the first step towards crushing Mr Navalny’s entire movement before the court tries to ban it completely by declaring it an extremist organisation, equating it with the likes of al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Prosecutors are seeking to target Mr Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which publishes investigations into official corruption, as well as the politician’s wide network of regional branches, which coordinate protests in their communities and field candidates in local elections. The lawsuit, which will be heard later this week, claims that Mr Navalny’s movement seeks to “destabilise social and political situation” and undermine “the foundations of the constitutional order.” The Kremlin has become “completely lawless and does not even try to work within the framework of the law,” Mr Volkov, head of Mr Navalny’s regional network, tweeted on Monday. “Why? The ruling makes it perfectly clear: so that we don’t put out our investigations, hold any protests or run in any elections.” Mr Navalny, who rose to prominence thanks to his anti-corruption investigations a decade ago, is currently serving two and a half years in prison for failing to see his probation officer while he was convalescing from nerve agent poisoning in Germany. He was reported to be in a critical condition last week after a three weeks-long hunger strike over lack of medical assistance, but said on Friday that he was stopping his protest after the prison administration met some of his demands and took him to a nearby city for two hospital examinations.
- NewsYahoo News Singapore
28 years' jail, maximum caning for man who raped daughter for 7.5 years
A man who raped his daughter for about seven-and-a-half years was jailed for 28 years and sentenced to 24 strokes of the cane on Monday (26 April).
- WorldAssociated Press
Leaked recording of Iran's top diplomat offers blunt talk
A recording of Iran's foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has been leaked, providing a rare look inside the country's theocracy. The release of the comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif set off a firestorm within Iran, where officials carefully mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, ultimately overseen by the country's supreme leader. Zarif has been suggested as a possible candidate for Iran's June 18 presidential election as well.

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