Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has appeared at a court hearing via video link for the first time since ending his hunger strike he launched to protest a lack of medical treatment by prison authorities.
At the same time, a top ally announced Navalny’s anti-corruption network would be forced to dissolve amid an effort by Russian prosecutors to label it as extremist.
The appeal hearing was related to a defamation sentence he received in January for allegedly insulting a World War II veteran.
Navalny is currently jailed for violating his parole while recovering in Germany from an assassination attempt, and has condemned both cases as politically motivated.
A gaunt-looking Navalny continued to crack jokes in court, as he is known to do, and asked to see his wife, Yulia.
He also accused the Kremlin of turning “Russians into slaves” and called President Vladimir Putin a “naked king,” before having his appeal summarily rejected.
Amnesty International says an extremist designation for Navalny’s political and anti-corruption groups would represent one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russia’s post-Soviet history.
Meanwhile, state media reported that a new criminal case had been opened against Navalny, Volkov, and Anti-Corruption Foundation director Ivan Zhdanov in connection with the extremist designation.
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