Russia's Navalny loses appeal on terrorist, extremist label

Moscow: Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday lost an appeal contesting the decision by penitentiary officials to label him as inclined to commit crimes of a terrorist or extremist

nature.

Navalny, who has been behind bars since January 2021, was first designated by the penitentiary authorities as a flight risk, which implied additional checks and inspections in prison.

But in October last year officials replaced that label with the terrorist or extremist one.

I was worried they would demand that I kissed portraits of (President Vladimir) Putin and learned quotes by (his top associate Dmitry) Medvedev, but it wasn't necessary. It is just that my bunk bed now has a label that describes me a terrorist, Navalny, in his usual sardonic matter, commented on the move at the time in a social media post.

He and his defense team filed an appeal contesting the label, but a panel of judges in the Russia's Vladimir region about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Moscow on Tuesday rejected the appeal and ruled to keep the designation in place.