Russia's Relentless Grip: The Label of Extremism on Navalny

The Russian financial watchdog has denied the removal of the deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny from its 'terrorists and extremists' list, despite his death. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, blames President Vladimir Putin for his death, while the Kremlin denies the accusation, asserting Navalny died of natural causes.

Russia's financial watchdog has decided against removing late opposition figure Alexei Navalny from its 'terrorists and extremists' list, a stance confirmed by his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. She released a December 16 letter from Rosfinmonitoring citing an ongoing criminal investigation into Navalny for alleged money laundering and terrorism financing.

Navalny, who died last February while serving multiple sentences in an Arctic penal colony, rejected the charges against him as politically motivated attacks to suppress his anti-Putin stance. His widow insists that his continued labelling as a terrorist posthumously is an act to instill fear in Russians, purportedly orchestrated by President Putin.

The watchdog's authority extends to freezing bank accounts of those on the list, which includes Navalnaya and three lawyers associated with Navalny, accused of extremist affiliations. The prosecution of these lawyers is seen by supporters as an unprecedented crackdown on legal defense in Russia.

(With inputs from agencies.)