Russian oppositionist Nadezhdin blocked from campaigning for MP: Court says Navalny's image is an "extremist symbol"

Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who criticized the military action in Ukraine and attempted to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 elections, was found guilty today in a court in Dologoprudny of displaying "extremist symbols," which will cost him the opportunity to campaign for this year's parliamentary elections.

The indictment against Nadezhdin, 63, is based on an online interview from 2023 in which he briefly showed a picture of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, while Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence on what many believe was politically motivated extremism charges. Navalny died on February 16, 2024, in an Arctic prison.

Nadezhdin dismissed the allegations in the case against him as absurd, claiming that it is an attempt by the authorities to prevent his candidacy for MP in the September elections.

A court in Dolgoprudny, a city on the northern outskirts of Moscow, found Nadezhdin guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.000 rubles, or $13.

A week ago, the Russian Ministry of Justice labeled Nadezhdin a "foreign agent," which carries very strong pejorative connotations, additional state surveillance, and a ban on holding public office. However, he was still allowed to run a symbolic campaign for parliament - until today's ruling.