ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- The former leader of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in St. Petersburg says she has been ordered to pay 3.9 million rubles ($53,400) to police to compensate city law enforcement for costs related to the dispersal of unsanctioned rallies against Navalny’s arrest in January 2021.
Irina Fatyanova wrote on Telegram that a court in St. Petersburg pronounced the ruling on April 29.
In April 2021, Fatyanova was sentenced to 10 days in jail after a court found her guilty of organizing the pro-Navalny rallies on January 23 and January 31 that same year.
In July, the election commission in St. Petersburg barred Fatyanova from taking part in elections in September because of her ties to Navalny.
In June, a Moscow City Court ruled in favor of a prosecutor's motion to declare Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and other groups related to the opposition politician as "extremist."
The move has prevented those associated with Navalny and his network of regional branches across Russia from seeking public office. It also carries possible lengthy prison terms for activists who have worked with the organizations, a move seen by critics as a thinly veiled attempt to scare off potential opposition candidates.
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5 Things To Know About Russian Opposition Leader Aleksei Navalny
Navalny, 45, was arrested in January 2021 upon his arrival from Germany where he was treated for poisoning with what was defined by European labs as a nerve agent in August last year. He has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.
A Moscow court in February converted a 3 1/2-year suspended sentence on a charge that Navalny and his supporters call politically motivated to real jail time saying he broke the terms of the original sentence by leaving Russia for Germany for the life-saving treatment he received. The court reduced the time Navalny must spend in prison to just over 2 1/2 years because of time already served in detention.
Last month, a court sentenced Navalny to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of embezzlement and contempt charges, which Navalny and his supporters also rejected as politically motivated.