Chita city authorities approve then quickly revoke permit for Navalny memorial event, threatening organizer

The authorities in the city of Chita in Russia’s Far East have withdrawn permission for residents to hold a memorial event for opposition politicians Alexey Navalny and Boris Nemtsov, according to the outlet 7x7 Horizontal Russia. The rejection comes less than a day after it was reported that the city had approved the request.

A police officer and two city government representatives reportedly came to the home of Alexander Zhdanov, the event’s organizer, and gave him a letter saying the approval had been revoked.

The document cited the fact that Zhdanov’s request had not indicated Navalny’s “involvement in extremist activities” The authorities also said that the organizer’s own involvement in the activities of a banned organization had been “noted.” Zhdanov plans to appeal the refusal in court.

Chita is the only city in Russia to have approved (even temporarily) a request to hold a public memorial event for Alexey Navalny and Boris Nemtsov.