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The court’s decision to commute the probation sentence imposed in 2014 to a real custodial sentence means that Navaln, a 44-year-old anti-corruption activist accused of trying to poison the Kremlin last year, will face a lengthy prison sentence for the first time. . in their life.
Britain, France, Germany, the United States and the European Union have condemned the court ruling and Moscow has accused the West of interfering in their affairs.
Navaln supporters have called new demonstrations after protests over the past two weekends against the opposition’s arrest, when thousands of people took to the streets across the country.
This case is one of the most serious challenges for the Kremlin in recent years, with some Western politicians demanding new sanctions on Moscow.
VIDEO: A. Navalnas sent behind bars: the judges showed his heart to his wife as they read the decision and urged not to cry
Judge Natalia Repnikova, when announcing the sentence, ordered to change the sentence of probation imposed on A. Navalns in 2014 to a real prison in the correctional colony of the general regime, but taking into account the time spent in house arrest and detention, she will have to spend two years and eight months in prison.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Alexei Navalna in court
Navaln is accused of violating the conditions of the probation sentence imposed on him in the embezzlement case in 2014, as he was unable to register with the Russian Prison Service twice a month in Germany, where he has been treated with Novičiok. , a nerve- paralyzing substance, since August.
Navaln said he could not come because he was abroad at the time, but the judge emphasized that he did not attend the meetings before the poisoning.
A critic of the Kremlin was arrested at the Moscow airport on January 17 as soon as he returned to Russia from Germany.
“Poison Pointer”
The court commuted the custodial sentence as Navaln spent a year under house arrest following a 2014 conviction by the European Court of Human Rights.
Opposition lawyer Olga Michailova said her client would have to go to prison for about two years and eight months.
His defense team plans to appeal the verdict, the lawyer added. Navaln will probably be detained until the end of that process.
The anti-corruption fund of the critic of the Kremlin (FBK) immediately called on the Russians to hold protests in central Moscow.
Photo by Scanpix / Protest in Russia
Several hundred Navalnas supporters marched through the streets of the capital, and journalists from the AFP news agency saw dozens of people detained by riot police in the center of the city.
Videos published by local media show officials beating protesters with sticks and chasing them through the streets.
Before the verdict, Navaln delivered a spirited speech in the courtroom, accusing Vladimir Putin of trying to intimidate his critics.
“They are sending a man behind bars to scare millions,” he emphasized.
Recalling his team’s reports of traces of Novičioko found in his underwear, Navalnas also taunted the president, telling the court: “This man will go down in history as poison for shorts.”
VIDEO: The Moscow court decides to replace the probation of A. Navaln with a royal imprisonment
“Pure cowardice”
Following the court ruling, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded Navalna’s release, warning that Washington and its allies “would hold Russia responsible for not respecting the rights of its citizens.”
French President Emanuel Macron also called for the release of the opposition, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Moscow’s decision “far from any rule of law.” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Russia’s actions as “sheer cowardice”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is preparing for a visit to Moscow later this week, said Navaln’s imprisonment “goes against Russia’s international obligations regarding the rule of law and fundamental freedoms “.
At the time, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called the Western reaction “detached from reality” and added: “There is no need to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
“Scanpix” / AP nuotr./Marija Zacharova
Police detained 1,408 people between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, to quell protests in Russian cities, an independent monitoring group, OVD Info, said. Many of these people were detained before the verdict. of Navaln.
“Life becomes more difficult under this regime, we have no future. It will only get worse,” Alexander, a 27-year-old engineer, told AFP near Red Square.
Corruption investigations
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
Putin denies owning that property. Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire businessman close to the Russian leader, said last week that the estate belonged to him and that it would be converted into a hotel.
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