MOSCOW, February 28 (Itar-Tass) —— The Moscow City Court on Tuesday will consider a claim from the Party of People’s Freedom (PARNAS) challenging registration denial, the court’s press ervice reported.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Justice refused to officially register the party, and Moscow’ Zamoskvorechye District Court ruled the denial was justified.
PARNAS’ co-chairman Boris Nemtson told Itar-Tass that even in case of a negative court ruling the party would continue efforts to obtain registration, especially in the light of the recently proclaimed liberalization of political legislature. “Now politics has changed. On Tuesday, the State Duma lower parliament house will consider on first reading a package of bills proposed by [President Dmitry] Medvedev. Maybe, it will influence the court in a way. Although I am not sure in anything, I am lost in this waxworks show,” he said over the phone.
Nonetheless, he pledged to continue efforts to have the party registered, as “it is demanded by 46,000 our activists.”
In late December 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev submitted to the State Duma a number of bills simplifying registration procedures for parties. Thus, one on the bills has it that from January 1, 2013 in order to be registered a political party is to have at least 500 members (now the threshold is 40,000).
The Party of People’s Freedom was set up in December 2010. Its co-chairmen are Mikhail Kasyanov, Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir MIlov, and Vladimir Ryzhkov. Registration documents were submitted in late May 2011, when the party had 53 regional branches, and the overall membership was more than 46,000. In June 2011, the Russian Ministry of Justice refused to register the party saying that its Charter has “provisions that run counter to the Law on Political Parties or other federal laws.” Apart from that, the ministry said the list of party members included names of underage citizens and names of the diseased.