Russia's Supreme Court has barred the liberal opposition party Yabloko from taking part in September's parliamentary elections. Yabloko is the only party that has opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The party said in a press statement that it would appeal the decision and urged supporters not to lose hope.
Nationalist party's complaint
The court ruled in favor of a complaint filed by the small nationalist party Rodina, which had sought Yabloko's exclusion from the election. Rodina argued Yabloko had received support from undisclosed sources, some of them from the West.
During the hearing, Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov said the accusations were baseless and described the move as an unconstitutional attack on freedom of thought by his political opponents.
A few hundred Yabloko supporters, mostly young people, attended the hearing. Some held apples to show their support for the party.
