Alexei Navalny was charged with new crimes, under a law commonly used in cases involving religious denominations

The Russian Investigative Committee, a body that acts as a prosecutor, said Alexei Navalny, the main political opponent of President Vladimir Putin, been accused for new crimes related to his organizations. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the authority accused Navalny and his collaborators of creating a “non-profit association that violates the rights of people and citizens,” referring to a law commonly used in cases related to religious sects.

The allegations relate specifically to the anti-corruption organization FBK, through which Navalny and his collaborators allegedly persuaded people to take part in unauthorized protests earlier this year. The FBK Anti-Corruption Foundation is the most famous organization founded by Navalny, as well as those that Publication of well-known investigations into the corruption of the Russian ruling class. The maximum penalty for new, disputed crimes is three years’ imprisonment.

Navalny is currently serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for violating a test that he and his supporters consider deceptive. By June, all the organizations he headed were Officially declared illegal and “extremists”.

– Read also: “These decisions in this country are not made by the president.”