The court upheld a petition by the pro-Kremlin Rodina party, citing foreign funding and other violations. Yabloko has five days to appeal.
8:45 PM
Russia's Supreme Court ruled Saturday to remove the Yabloko party from upcoming elections to the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, upholding a petition filed by the Rodina party.
The Prosecutor General's Office supported the disqualification, citing foreign funding and violations of legislation on combating extremism. According to the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Yabloko received funds from the United States and Germany via intermediaries, a representative of Russia's Central Election Commission told the court.
Rodina, a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, brought the case against Yabloko. The lawsuit accused Yabloko of publicly supporting an extremist organization by publishing material on its website in support of the "international LGBT movement," which Russia's Supreme Court designated as extremist in 2022.
However, the Supreme Court found no evidence of calls for extremism in Yabloko's campaign materials during the consideration of the case. A court spokesperson said the plaintiff's arguments about extremist content in the party's materials "cannot be verified within the framework of this case and should be considered in a separate proceeding upon the presentation of the evidence."
The court did find that Yabloko violated intellectual property legislation by using other people's creative works—texts, images, and videos—without permission of copyright holders during its campaigning.
Yabloko's electoral list had been approved by the Central Election Commission in late July. The party has five days from Saturday to appeal the Supreme Court's ruling. If filed, the appeal will be considered by the Supreme Court's presidium. According to the party's press office, Yabloko will challenge the ruling.
The Central Election Commission will not revise the previously approved federal ballot until the court considers any potential appeal and a final ruling enters into force, CEC Deputy Chairman Nikolay Bulayev said.
Hundreds of supporters, mostly young people, gathered outside the Moscow courthouse during the hearing. When news of the verdict spread, many chanted "Shame! Shame!" and waved flags in support of the party.
Yabloko is described as Russia's only liberal, anti-war party and the only registered party to oppose Russia's war in Ukraine. Party Chairman Nikolay Rybakov attended the hearing in Moscow.
A federal appeals court rejected pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil's request for rehearing Friday, prompting his legal team to seek Supreme Court review of his deportation case.
Roberto Sánchez requested nullification of votes cast abroad, which could affect nearly 300,000 ballots in a race where Keiko Fujimori leads by over 40,000 votes.
Robert Kuzovkov, known as Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot five times in Biała Podlaska. Two Belarusian nationals were detained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Friday easing citizenship procedures for residents of the unrecognized Transnistria region, drawing criticism from Moldova and Ukraine.
The UK revoked the accreditation of a Russian diplomat Wednesday after Russia expelled a British official accused of spying in March.