Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday decided to exclude the liberal opposition Yabloko party from September’s parliamentary election, citing alleged breaches of electoral law.
Presiding Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov followed a request by the prosecution to bar Yabloko, a party that has publicly campaigned for an end to the war in Ukraine, from participating in the vote.
The lawsuit had been brought by the nationalist pro-Kremlin party Rodina (Motherland) party, which had complained about a number of alleged violations of electoral law in the registration process after the electoral commission granted the opposition party surprise permission to participate in July.
Yabloko tried to fend off the allegations during an hours-long hearing on Monday, while hundreds of its supporters gathered outside the courtroom.
The party has said it will appeal the ruling.
