The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed on Wednesday its rejection of the disqualification of Yabloko, the only political force opposed to the war in Ukraine included on the Russian electoral ballot, which has been excluded from the elections scheduled for September. The agency has called on Moscow to reverse its decision and allow its participation again.
"We are deeply concerned about the exclusion of Yabloko, one of the oldest political parties in Russia, from the parliamentary elections in September. We urge the authorities to revoke this ban," indicated the office led by Volker Turk through its official social media accounts.
The statement comes after the Russian Supreme Court barred Yabloko from participating in the legislative elections in September earlier this week, after admitting a lawsuit from the nationalist party Rodina, which accuses the formation of alleged irregular financing. The leader of Yabloko, Nikolai Ribakov, has rejected these accusations and has announced that they will challenge the ruling.
"We have five days and we will do everything possible to ensure that Yabloko remains on the electoral ballot," Ribakov declared at the doors of the Supreme Court in Moscow, who had previously been disqualified for "extremism" due to his expressions of support and condolences following the death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.