The Supreme Court of Russia, in a closed-door decision on Friday, designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF/FBK) as a “terrorist organization.” The ACF, a US-registered entity, was founded by the late opposition leader Alexeï Navalny as part of his movement against corruption in 2011.

On October 22, the Prosecutor General’s Office petitioned the court to designate the ACF Inc. as a terrorist organization under the country’s anti-terrorism laws. Justice Oleg Nefyodov, who had previously banned the non-existent “international LGBT movement” and “international satanism movement” as extremist, ruled that ACF’s goals and activities are “aimed at promoting, justifying and supporting terrorism.”

The ACF has investigated corruption by high-ranking Russian government officials and released reports through videos that garner millions of views. Previously, Navalny accused former prime minister Dmitry Medvedev of misusing billions of state resources to acquire luxury properties. The organization also exposed the construction of President Vladimir Putin’s residence near the Black Sea as linked to corruption schemes. The ACF replaced the original Anti-Corruption Foundation, abbreviated as FBK in Russian, which was declared an “undesirable organization” in 2021 and formally liquidated, after being labelled a “foreign agent” two years prior.

Alexeï Navalny died in contested circumstances in the Arctic laboratories. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaïa, claims her husband was poisoned and killed under Putin’s orders. She states that the authorities aim to dismantle his legacy and crush any remaining dissent in the country by repressing his movement.

Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, noted that the Kremlin’s attack on the opposition leader’s legacy has reached a “stunning peak”:

[T]he authorities are not only smearing and trying to erase Navalny’s legacy but they are also exposing tens of thousands of Russian citizens who have been associated with him over the past 15 years to the potential risk of prosecution. Posting a photograph of Navalny has already proven enough to trigger severe personal consequences; now it will guarantee arrest and imprisonment.

Amnesty International has urged the authorities to cease the use of “anti-terrorism” laws as a weapon to silence critics and lift the ban on FBK. It has called for an independent international investigation into the torture and mistreatment of Navalny while in custody, and also to halt the punishment of those connected to it.

The Supreme Court has also designated Human Rights Watch as an undesirable organization.