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Russia's Limonov will appeal to Strasbourg over party ban

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MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - Radical writer Eduard Limonov said on Tuesday he would appeal to the Strasbourg court over a Russian court's refusal to lift a ban on his party which is referred to as an extremist organization.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected Limonov's request to review the April 2007 court decision to ban his National Bolshevik Party (NBP) for extremist activities, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in August.

"We will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but a little later," Limonov said adding the court in Strasbourg has already been examining two earlier complaints over Russian authorities' refusal to register the NBP youth group and a later decision to outlaw it.

"We are expecting a decision shortly," Limonov said.

The youth group has pursued 'direct action' tactics by publicly attacking people they considered symbols of President Putin's regime or its allies.

NBP members are known to have thrown mayonnaise and tomatoes at prominent public figures, including ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, former NATO Secretary Lord George Robertson, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov. Activists also staged protests by breaking into governmental offices in Moscow.

For such actions, which the radical youth group dubs "velvet terror," many of its activists were arrested and sentenced to prison terms.

Since founding the group in 1994 after returning to Russia from years abroad, Limonov, 65, dropped his anti-capitalism rhetoric while preserving his nationalist message. In recent years, he has sided with the liberal opposition in Russia, which has been desperate to strengthen its ranks.

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