Russia’s Supreme Court upholds ban on anti-war party Yabloko

Russia's Supreme Court on Monday upheld its decision to bar Russia's only anti-war party, Yabloko, from running in the September legislative elections, as dozens of party supporters were detained outside the court. Last week, the court removed Yabloko from the ballot, upholding a suit brought by a nationalist party, which blasted the rival for its peace stance and accused it of receiving foreign funding and copyright violations. "The Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld the court's decision to revoke the registration of Yabloko's federal list of candidates for the State Duma elections," the party said in a statement, adding that it would seek a supervisory review. During the hearing, police pushed the supporters away from the building, along with journalists who had come to cover the decision, including an AFP reporter. "Many detainees today. We also see that the police officers are very nervous today," Kirill Goncharov, head of Yabloko's Moscow branch, told the independent outlet Novaya Gazeta. Read moreAnti-war politician and Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin flees Russia for France He earlier estimated that more than 60 party supporters had been taken to nearby police statio...