The appellate panel of Russia's Supreme Court is hearing Yabloko's appeal against a ruling that struck its federal party list from the State Duma election ballot. The session is open to the public but not broadcast; only parties to the case and journalists are admitted to the courtroom.
Several dozen party supporters gathered outside the court building. According to SOTAvision and Mediazona, police detained at least three people; RTVI and the human rights group Slovo Zashchite report two detentions, including Yabloko activist Yevgenia Titova. Earlier, participants were warned against taking part in unsanctioned events. The party said it was not calling for street protests.
On August 10, the Supreme Court, acting on a lawsuit by the Rodina party, removed Yabloko's federal list from the ballot. The grounds cited were donations from abroad, campaigning on social networks banned in Russia, and copyright violations — which the court said included the use of lyrics from the song 'Let there always be sunshine.'
Yabloko calls the allegations absurd. The party says the donations in question totaled 16,900 rubles and were later returned to the senders. It also claims that companies earning income from abroad donated to other parties as well, which formally would be grounds for removing them from the election too.
Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov urged Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova to either acknowledge the allegations as absurd and keep the party's registration, or seek through the courts the removal of all other election participants.