Groups linked to Alexei Navalny declared 'extremist' by Russian court

The UK has declared as "perverse" a ruling on Wednesday by a Russian court that defines organisations linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny "extremist", in a move that outlaws the groups and imposes lengthy jail terms for members.

The judgment, which takes effect immediately, effectively bars the groups' members from running in a parliamentary election this year.

Mr Navalny, who is serving a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence on charges he says are trumped up, has denied extremism allegations, casting them as an attempt to stamp out opposition to the ruling United Russia party ahead of the parliamentary vote in September.

The extremism label also carries prison terms for activists who have worked with the organisations, anyone who donated to them, and even those who simply shared the groups' materials.

The Moscow City Court's ruling, effective immediately, prevents people associated with Mr Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption (FBK) and his sprawling network of regional offices across Russia from seeking public office.

Many of Mr Navalny's allies had hoped to run for parliamentary seats in the Sep 19 election.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday night condemned the judgment.

“Today’s ruling that the anti-corruption foundation FBK is an extremist organisation is perverse,” Mr Raab said.

“It is another Kafka-esque attack on those standing up against corruption and for open societies, and is a deliberate attempt effectively outlaw genuine political opposition in Russia.”

Mr Navalny, the most ardent political foe of President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in January upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, an accusation that Russian officials reject.

The case is just one part of a multipronged government strategy to steamroll the opposition ahead of Sep 19 elections that has included the banning of other organisations and arrests of activists.

Lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov said during the hearing that stretched into the evening hours that the prosecutors' motion was intended to bar Navalny's associates from running for public office.

"This case has been linked to the law that bans all those who are connected with the FBK from getting elected," Mr Smirnov said.

The court session was held behind closed doors on the grounds that classified materials would be discussed.

Mr Navalny's offices in dozens of Russian regions already shut down in April after the prosecutors issued an injunction to suspend their activities pending the court's ruling, but the opposition leader's associates have vowed to continue their work in different formats.

His foundation, started 10 years ago, has relentlessly targeted senior government officials with colorful and widely watched videos that detail corruption allegations against them.

One of its latest productions, which has received 117 million views on YouTube, claimed that a lavish palace on the shores of the Black Sea was built for Mr Putin through an elaborate corruption scheme. The Kremlin has denied the property has any links to Mr Putin.