Moscow Region Court Fines Nadezhdin $13 for ‘Extremist’ Navalny Photo

A Moscow region judge has fined anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin 1,000 rubles ($12.76) after finding him guilty of displaying “extremist” symbols, the exiled Mediazona outlet reported Friday.

The conviction means Nadezhdin is now banned from collecting signatures to appear on the ballot for State Duma elections this September. His designation as a “foreign agent” last week bars him from running for public office.

A judge at the Dolgoprudny City Court in Nadezhdin’s hometown north of Moscow imposed the fine days after he was briefly detained and charged with the administrative offense.

Law enforcement authorities accused the politician of sharing a link to a video that contained an image of the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 days in jail.

“I’m glad I’m alive and free,” Nadezhdin, 63, said after the verdict was read. His attorney said he plans to make an appeal.

On Thursday, Nadezhdin said that Russian authorities had banned him from leaving the country. Reports indicated the travel ban stems from the sudden reopening of an old enforcement proceeding linked to Nadezhdin’s year-old bankruptcy case.

Nadezhdin said this week that he and his family were weighing whether to leave Russia due to growing pressure from the authorities, arguing that he would likely die if imprisoned due to his heart problems and diabetes.

He felt unwell during Friday’s trial, but the judge refused to allow paramedics inside the courtroom during proceedings. Mediazona reported that medical personnel were allowed inside after the judge retired to the deliberation room before rendering the verdict.

Nadezhdin gained prominence during a failed 2024 presidential bid to unseat Vladimir Putin on a pro-peace platform.

He previously served as an advisor to former Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov in the late 1990s, and then as an assistant to former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko, who is currently deputy first chief of staff in the Kremlin. Nadezhdin was a State Duma lawmaker from 1999 to 2003. Between 2019 and 2024, he served as a councilman in the Moscow region.

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