The Association of Human Rights Lawyers, which is affiliated with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, went on strike today to protect its team.

Moscow authorities blocked their site at the request of the Prosecutor's Office.

Russian authorities have launched an operation ahead of parliamentary elections in September to curb the work of opposition groups and independent media, which authorities say are hostile and have foreign support.

The Association of Lawyers Command 29 (Team 29) is led by Ivan Pavlov, who defended Navalny. Pavlov has been under investigation since April, when Russia accused him of leaking confidential information to one of his clients.

- The Office of the Public Prosecutor links Command 29 with the Czech non-governmental organization "Poleksokni free information", which is on the list of undesirable organizations in Russia, is stated in the statement of the Bar Association.

Command 29 denies allegations that it is linked to the Czech NGO.

"The next step could be criminal charges against members of Command 29, as well as its supporters.", is stated in the statement of Command 29.

Navalny and his associates have launched a number of high-level corruption investigations. According to the Kremlin, these are malicious intentions as part of foreign interference in order to destabilize Russia.