Russian Supreme Court Rejects Opposition's Appeal

Russia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the opposition Yabloko party to reinstate it for St. Petersburg's upcoming local elections.

Election officials say Yabloko's petition to run in the March 11 vote contained false or suspicious signatures.

Mikhail Amosov, a senior member of Yabloko in St. Petersburg, called the court ruling a "political decision."

Other opposition parties allege that the exclusion is part of a Kremlin effort to suppress dissent.

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