MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has suspended the activity of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation (recognized as foreign agents in Russia) until it issues a ruling on the lawsuit filed by Russian prosecutors on declaring these organizations extremist, the court’s press service informed TASS.

"A judge of the Moscow City Court has considered the motion of the plaintiff to take interim measures of protection. The judge of the Moscow City Court has decided to use the interim measures of protection in the form of prohibiting certain acts with regards to the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation non-commercial organizations," the court informed, adding that they did not specify the list of measures, as the case is considered in camera. The court will send the copies of its decision to the parties, the press service added.

This decision means that until the court issues a ruling on the lawsuit of the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office against the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation and Alexey Navalny’s 'headquarters,' their members cannot organize rallies, publish materials online on behalf of the organizations or take part in elections and referendums. They are also banned from using the bank accounts of their organizations except for paying fines and taxes.

On Monday, the Moscow City Court held a preliminary hearing on recognizing the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation and Navalny’s 'headquarters' as extremist organizations. The court’s press service informed TASS that the hearing would continue on April 29. Concerning the outcomes of the session, the court will either set a date for considering the prosecution’s lawsuit or return it to the prosecution to remove possible violations.

The Moscow prosecution believes that these organizations are setting conditions for destabilizing the socio-political situation, and that their goal is to orchestrate pretexts for changing the foundation of the constitutional order, namely by using a "color revolution" scenario. Besides, the prosecution thinks that these structures are carrying out the activity of foreign and international organizations considered undesirable on Russian soil.

The Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation was established as an NGO by supporters of blogger Alexey Navalny in May 2019. The Anti-Corruption Foundation was recognized as a foreign agent in October 2019, and the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation made it to the foreign agent list in December 2020.