Russia’s federal censorship agency blocked 49 websites linked to jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, including his personal website where he published investigations into alleged high-level corruption, the Moscow Times reported July 26. The regulator said it blocked the Navalny-linked websites because of “propaganda and banned extremist activity” at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Navalny’s organizations were formally designated as extremist on June 9. The designation bars the groups from any operations and puts their members and supporters at risk of up to six years in prison. On Feb. 2, a Moscow court incarcerated Navalny under a reinstated sentence for allegedly violating probation. He is currently serving 2.5 years in prison.