Russia adds Navalny and his top allies to list of terrorists

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have added imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and some of his top allies to the registry of terrorists and extremists, the latest move in a multi-pronged crackdown on opposition supporters, independent media and human rights activists. Existing laws require freezing the bank accounts of those on the list. The move comes just over a year after Navalny’s arrest, which triggered a wave of the biggest mass protests across the country in years. Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic, was detained upon his return from Germany last year after spending five months there recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have denied any involvement.