The US State Department on Tuesday said Russia’s decision to add jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and a handful of his allies to an official list of “terrorists and extremists” was disturbing, and it again called for Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release. The AFP news agency reports that the past year has seen an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in Russia, including the jailing of President Vladimir Putin’s top critic Navalny last January and the outlawing of his political organisations. Almost all of his top allies, including key aide Lyubov Sobol, have since fled the country.
