Russia blocks website of jailed opposition leader Navalny

Russian officials have blocked access to the website of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny along with dozens of other websites run by allies of him.

Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor said it blocked navalny.com along with the other sites at the request of the prosecutor general.

Included in the blocked sites is the website of Navalny’s top strategist, Leonid Volkov, along with the website for Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, and the site for the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors union.

The move comes ahead of September’s parliamentary elections, seen as a key part of President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to increase his support before a 2024 presidential election.

Last month, a Russian court ruled that organizations linked to Navalny were “extremist,” barring them from operating and preventing people associated with them from running for public office.

Navalny is Putin’s most prominent critic, and his organization has worked to expose corruption in Russia.

He is currently serving a 2 1/2-year jail sentence for parole violations stemming from a 2014 embezzlement conviction, which he says was politically motivated.

Navalny has accused the Kremlin of trying to poison him with a nerve agent, an accusation the government denies.

His arrest and jailing earlier this year sparked a wave of protests across Russia and have been condemned by Western nations.  (VOA, with additional reports from AP and Reuters)