Navalny Appeals Supreme Court Election Registration Ban

Jan. 3, 2018

Alexei Navalny / Evgeny Feldman for "It's Navalny" (CC-BY-NC)

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has appealed the Russian Supreme Court ruling that bars him from registering as a 2018 presidential candidate.

The court struck down Navalny’s initial appeal, upholding a decision made by election officials who shut down his presidential bid over a criminal conviction, his lawyer Ivan Zhdanov said over the weekend.

“The decision was appealed to Russia’s Supreme Court appellate body,” Zhdanov told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday.

The court could hand down its ruling by the time New Year’s holidays wrap up on Monday, Jan. 8, he added.

Navalny and his supporters argue the opposition leader’s charges are a politically motivated, citing a past European Court of Human Rights rulings asserting that his right to a fair trial was violated.

Navalny, 41, has called on his supporters to take to the streets on Jan. 28 to boycott the elections in March where Putin is widely expected to secure another six-year term.

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