Mass raids target Russian opposition chief
Mass raids target Russian opposition chief
Anna SMOLCHENKO
,
AFP•October 15, 2019
Moscow (AFP) - Russian investigators raided opposition campaign offices across the country on Tuesday, in the latest move to increase pressure on top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his allies.
The early morning raids targeted more than 100 of Navalny's campaign offices and homes of activists in 30 cities, the opposition said, including the headquarters of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation in Moscow.
An AFP journalist saw several armed interior ministry officers in black balaclavas enter the business centre where the foundation's offices are located.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who has emerged as President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, denounced the raids as an attempt to intimidate the opposition after a summer of protests.
"This will not stop us," he said in a post on his blog shortly after the raids began.
"We are doing the right thing. And those who are against us are enemies of Russia."
The Investigative Committee said Tuesday that the raids were part of an ongoing probe into money-laundering.
It said accounts of Navalny's foundation had been frozen under a court order.
The raids followed similar mass searches last month.
In August, Russian investigators launched a money-laundering probe into Navalny's anti-corruption foundation accusing it of taking money as donations that was procured illegally.
The 43-year-old lawyer said he had lost track of the number of times his foundation has been raided in the past two months and that 112 investigators are working on the case.
- 'Seeking revenge' -
Navalny has organised some of the biggest protests against Putin in recent years and his anti-corruption rhetoric has grown increasingly popular.
While barred from mainstream politics, he has worked hard to expose the ostentatious wealth of Russia's elite and his video reports are watched by millions on social media.
Putin's approval rating has been falling amid anger over unchecked corruption and declining living standards following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Western sanctions.
Last month, investigators raided dozens of Navalny's regional offices, as well as the homes of his supporters,
Mass raids target Russian opposition chief
Anna SMOLCHENKO
,
AFP•October 15, 2019
Moscow (AFP) - Russian investigators raided opposition campaign offices across the country on Tuesday, in the latest move to increase pressure on top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his allies.
The early morning raids targeted more than 100 of Navalny's campaign offices and homes of activists in 30 cities, the opposition said, including the headquarters of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation in Moscow.
An AFP journalist saw several armed interior ministry officers in black balaclavas enter the business centre where the foundation's offices are located.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who has emerged as President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, denounced the raids as an attempt to intimidate the opposition after a summer of protests.
"This will not stop us," he said in a post on his blog shortly after the raids began.
"We are doing the right thing. And those who are against us are enemies of Russia."
The Investigative Committee said Tuesday that the raids were part of an ongoing probe into money-laundering.
It said accounts of Navalny's foundation had been frozen under a court order.
The raids followed similar mass searches last month.
In August, Russian investigators launched a money-laundering probe into Navalny's anti-corruption foundation accusing it of taking money as donations that was procured illegally.
The 43-year-old lawyer said he had lost track of the number of times his foundation has been raided in the past two months and that 112 investigators are working on the case.
- 'Seeking revenge' -
Navalny has organised some of the biggest protests against Putin in recent years and his anti-corruption rhetoric has grown increasingly popular.
While barred from mainstream politics, he has worked hard to expose the ostentatious wealth of Russia's elite and his video reports are watched by millions on social media.
Putin's approval rating has been falling amid anger over unchecked corruption and declining living standards following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Western sanctions.
Last month, investigators raided dozens of Navalny's regional offices, as well as the homes of his supporters,
