Russia’s Supreme Court bans only anti-war party from Duma elections

Aug. 13 (UPI) — Russia’s Supreme Court has removed Yabloko, the country’s only anti-war political party, from the ballot for next month’s legislative elections, drawing international and domestic condemnation.

The decision by the Russia nSupreme Court was made Monday ahead of the Sept. 18 Duma legislative elections, with Yabloko, the social-liberal Russian United Democratic Party, releasing a copy of the decision Wednesday. According to the document, Yabloko was banned from the election on allegations that it received donations from Russian nationals who had themselves received the money from abroad.

Other reasons included material supporting Yabloko spreading on social media networks, specifically Instagram and Facebook, blocked or restricted in Russia, as well as copyright infringement.

“Yabloko firmly rejects all the accusations brought against it and believes that they were convincingly disproved in the course of the proceedings,” the party said in a statement.

“The party intends to prove it is right at the appeal stage.”

It claimed the real reason it was banned was for its anti-war campaign, which it is running under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom.”

Russia has long been a target of criticism for its repression of civil society, but the United Nations and human rights advocates say those campaigns have intensified since it invaded Ukraine in February 2023 and amid the subsequent ongoing war. Among accusations, the Kremlin is accused of politically persecuting Alexei Navalny, vocal critic and opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, resulting in his February death at a penal colony.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday called on Russia to overturn the ban.

“We are deeply concerned about the barring of Yabloko, one of Russia’s oldest political parties, from the September parliamentary elections,” it said in a statement.

On Tuesday, European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper described the court’s decision during a press conference in Brussels as further evidence of Russia’s attacks against fundamental freedoms and continued pressure on opposition figures.

“This basically shows that Russia is afraid because they truly need to eliminate any dissenting voice,” she said.

“So, by silencing the political opposition, the Kremlin is also removing any domestic voice that has been critical of its unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. I would say this comes as a surprise, but it’s not.”

State Duma deputy Alexey Zhuravlyov, chairman of the Russian nationalist Rodina Party, filed the lawsuit with the Supreme Court, according to state-run TASS news agency.

Griigory Yavlinsk, founder and former chairman of Yabloko, urged Russians to continue supporting the party in spite of the court’s decision, saying “this is not about Yabloko’s fate — it is about Russia’s fate.”

“Voting for Yabloko is an opportunity for Russian citizens to declare the need for an alternative,” he said in a statement on Telegram. “It is an opportunity to say: In Russia, more and more people believe that preserving human life should be the political priority and that reaching a cease-fire agreement should be the goal.”

Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s wife, echoed Hipper’s sentiment that by banning Yabloko, the Putin regime is showing its fear.

“They saw what they very much did not want to see: people are beginning to unite,” she said in a statement.

According to Navalnaya, the Putin regime hoped Yabloko would run but net little support so it could boast it was not popular. But instead, it had to change tactics and ban the party and show the public that there is nothing they can do about it.

“But what happens if we do not give up? If we keep speaking out, uniting and supporting one another?” she said.

“We have a Plan B too.”