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Over the past two weekends, tens of thousands of people have protested in Moscow and other cities across the country against the 44-year-old detention of an anti-corruption activist. The police arrested thousands of people during the protests.
On Tuesday, protective measures were drastically tightened in the Moscow court, where a judge decided whether to impose a real prison sentence on A. Navalns for violating the conditions of probation. Law enforcement and the National Guard detained at least 200 people.
The case became a serious challenge for the Kremlin and prompted calls for new Western sanctions against the government of President Vladimir Putin.
VIDEO: Protests continue in Russia: thousands of people have been arrested and the police have used force
Navaln added that in the event of any court ruling, the political struggle would continue. And the judges were already showing the sign of the heart to his wife Julia as they read the sentence by hand.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to fight this system. And it is my duty to fight,” he said at the hearing.
Navaln was arrested at the Moscow airport on January 17, less than an hour after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was being treated for his nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok, created by Soviet scientists after his poisoning last summer.
VIDEO: The Moscow court decides to replace the probation of A. Navaln with a real custodial sentence
The opposition accuses the Federal Security Service (FSB) of carrying out the attack on Putin’s instructions. The Kremlin categorically denies it.
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Recent Top
Recent background
Promises to appeal
Attorneys representing A. Navalns say they will appeal the verdict, although it is clear that there is not much hope.
Meanwhile, the activist is reportedly still able to say out loud to his crying wife in the courtroom from which she was already being driven: Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Proponents are encouraged to choose the center
As mentioned, a large number of policemen are on duty in central Moscow on Tuesday night, who have also blocked Red Square. However, supporters of A. Navalnas, who has just been in prison for two and a half years, invite people to come to Plaza Manege on social media.
Verdict: captive
As expected, the judge decided to leave A. Navalns in captivity – who had violated the conditions of probation. It is true that last year under house arrest was included in the sentence, which means that A. Navalnas will spend 2.5 years behind bars.
It is announced that the activist will serve his sentence in the colony. Hearing the verdict, A. Navalnas did not seem upset, just smiled and sent greetings to family members and supporters in the hall. It is true that the activist’s wife, Julia, cried.
Closed red square
The police blocked Red Square in Moscow before the verdict was announced, because they did not want to be attacked by protesters. According to unofficial data, 354 people were detained across Russia, the majority in the capital, on Tuesday alone.
He mocked V. Putin: “in a man’s bunker”
In his closing remarks, Navaln once again accused the Russian authorities of trying to poison him.
Recalling his team’s reports of traces of poison found in his underwear, Navaln taunted Putin and said: “This man will go down in history as an underwear poisoner.”
“I am protected by the police, half of Moscow is closed because we have shown that he is trying to steal his opponent’s underwear and smear it with chemical weapons,” he said.
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Vladimiras Putinas
“We have shown and proved that Putin, through the FSB, carried out this assassination attempt,” Navaln said.
“Now many people already know this and will learn even more, and this drives this man in the bunker crazy,” added the opposition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that he believed there was increasing reason to believe that the Navaln poisoning had been staged.
The verdict is expected around 7 pm Lithuanian time
Mediazona announces from court spokesmen that it will read the court’s verdict around 8 pm Moscow (7 pm Lithuanian time). In Russia, sentences are usually read for a long time.
Previously, the prosecutor asked the judge to impose a real prison sentence on A. Navalnas.
He added in favor of adding the 12 months that the activist spent under house arrest to the requested sentence of 3.5 years in prison. In this way, A. Navalnas spent two and a half years behind bars.
But the judge can also uphold the sentence of probation. This would mean the liberation of Navaln at this time.
Closing language
In his closing speech, A. Navalnas said that the reason for his imprisonment was “hatred and fear in a man’s bunker.”
“I insulted him by surviving when they tried to kill me on his orders,” the opposition told Putin.
“The main thing in this process is to intimidate a large number of people. One person is imprisoned to intimidate millions. 20 million people living below the poverty line, tens of millions do not have the slightest prospect for the future.
Life in Moscow is more or less good, but after 100 km it is total poverty. The whole country lives in poverty and (the government) is trying to cover it up with these demonstration courts, “said A. Navalnas.
“It’s easy to put me in jail. But the main goal is to intimidate large numbers of people. I very much hope that this process is perceived as a sign of weakness, “he added.
Navaln also demanded his release.
“I demand his immediate release. I KNOW [Rusijos federalinės bausmių vykdymo tarnybos (FSIN) pareiškimas] “Illegal,” Navalnas said at a hearing in a Moscow court.
Ensures after informing officials
According to The Moscow Times, Navaln asked an FSIN official: “Together, Captain, do you respect Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin? <...> You said you didn’t know where he had been since August. Putin said on television that he had flown me to Germany for treatment. “
“I was in a coma, then in the intensive care unit. I sent you medical documents; you had my address and contacts. What else could he do to make her know where he was? I have a lawyer and she has a phone … How could I have informed her better? ”A. Navalnas asked in court.
The FSIN official responded that A. Navaln had to present documents and explain the reasons why he did not show up for the inspections.
“He was in a coma!”, Assured the opposition.
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Corruption investigations
A. Navalnas is accused of violating the conditions of the probation sentence that was imposed on him in the embezzlement case in 2014, as he did not come to Germany to register with the Russian Prison Service twice a month.
On parole, A. Navalnas spent a year under house arrest. His brother Oleg is serving his entire prison sentence.
Opposition lawyers told AFP that he now faces up to two and a half years in prison because he served part of his sentence under house arrest.
Navaln, who has become the most famous critic of Putin in Russia over the past decade, and his supporters believe that the 2014 case was a retaliation by the government for his political activities. They say the Kremlin is now trying to shut it down.
Although he has never held a popularly elected office, Navaln has earned a reputation for investigating the corruption that exposes the lavish lifestyle of the Russian elite.
Two days after his arrest, his team announced an investigation into a luxury property on the Black Sea, which Navaln said was handed over to Putin under a $ 1 billion scheme funded by his close allies leading in state-owned companies.
The study was published alongside a YouTube video that was viewed by more than 100 million people. together.
VIDEO: Alexei Navaln’s study of Vladimir Putin’s mansion
Navaln’s arrest and corruption allegations have sparked protests across the country for the past two weekends. During the action last Sunday, the police closed down central Moscow and detained more than 5.4 thousand. people is a one-day record.
The West condemned Navaln’s arrest and the mass arrests during the street protests.
The United States and the European Union have called for Navalna’s immediate release and condemned the police violence against the protesters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will raise the Navaln issue during his visit to Moscow this week.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, said the case was an “internal matter” and added: “We will not allow anyone to interfere.”
VIDEO: It has been decided to leave A. Navalna in prison; lawyers say the government has political motives for this.
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