– Politically motivated – VG

The result was expected and the verdict that fell in Moscow on Tuesday, according to Reuters, is being appealed. Amnesty believes that the verdict is politically motivated.

“One person has been jailed for intimidating millions of people,” Alexei Navalny said during his testimony. Thousands of people have been arrested in the past two weekends after taking part in protests in their support.

Judge Natalya Repnikova confirmed the prosecution’s decision that the opposition leader violated the duty to report that he was on suspended sentence, when he was treated for poisoning in Germany this fall. According to the verdict, the Kremlin critic must serve a sentence in a concentration camp.

Navalny accuses Vladimir Putin of being behind the assassination attempt against him.

He has already served ten months under house arrest.

Alexei Navalny stood with his hands in his pockets and smiled resignedly at his supporters as referee Repnikova read the verdict on Tuesday night. His wife Julia, dressed in a red sweater in the front row, remained completely calm. Just before the verdict was read, he showed a heart to his wife.

“Don’t regret it,” he told her afterward, according to Novaya Gazeta.

“I was prepared for such a verdict,” Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s anti-corruption organization, told Dozhd television.

– We will continue protesting. We must change this country, he says.

Police from the rebellion broke an iron ring around Moscow’s main district court when the court opened a case against Russia’s top opposition politician Tuesday morning.

354 people were arrested by special forces during the day, reports the OVD-info website.

On Tuesday night, among other things, Red Square is closed, and there are many police officers in places where it is conceivable that the opposition will demonstrate.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday morning that the president did not attend the court hearing. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman was furious that diplomats from 20 Western countries were present in court.

– Politically motivated

With this ruling, the Russian authorities have shown that they do not respect human rights at all, says John Peder Egenæs, Secretary General of Amnesty Norway.

– This is a politically motivated verdict showing a totally unscrupulous handling of law and justice.

Navalny said in court that he could not appear because he had gathered forces after being attacked by the military neurotoxin Novitsjok during a trip to Siberia.

The 44-year-old also said he has investigated the attempted murder of himself.

– We show that it was Putin who made this assassination attempt. And then the little thief sitting in his bunker went crazy, Navalny said in his explanation, adding:

– Putin will go down in history as a poisoner. Vladimir the poisoner.

Ten months under house arrest

He has been detained since January 17, when he returned home from Germany. They will probably take you back to the famous Matrosskaya Tishina (The Silence of the Sailor) prison on Tuesday night.

His regular lawyer Olga Mikhailova, as well as Vadim Kobzev, are his defenders.

The defendants began by presenting evidence that Navalny was in a hospital in Berlin. He was seriously ill when he was transferred to Germany for treatment in August last year.

Denies the poison attack

The opposition leader has accused the FSB security force of being behind the poison attack.

Putin has denied this, stating that “if we had been behind, we would have done the job.”

In court, defense attorney Vadim Kobzev said Navalny would have appeared to register the following Monday, had he not been arrested at the Moscow airport on Sunday (January 17).

You were required to register on the first and third Monday of each month.

– Medical certificate not approved

A representative of the prison service said Navalny has violated the terms of the suspended sentence more than 50 times.

It also happened before the hospital stay in Germany, according to the representative, who said they did not know where Navalny was since September 24, 2020.

The day before, the 44-year-old man was released from the Berlin hospital.

Aleksandr Jermolin, a representative of the prison service, admitted to the court that they received an address of the hotel in Germany where Navalny was staying after the hospital stay.

He added that they did not try to contact him, since they can only operate in Russian territory, and emphasized that it is Navalny who must contact them.

– You did not know?

Navalny asked Jermolin if he respected Putin. The judge said it was irrelevant, but Navalny continued:

– He says he didn’t know where he was after August. The country’s president said he was in the hospital. You didn’t know why are you standing here saying I wasn’t home? Of course it wasn’t.

Jermolin said the prison service did not receive documents giving a valid reason for not attending.

– The case is manufactured

After a break, Alexei Navalny appeared in court.

– It has already been established that this case has been manufactured, said the 44-year-old.

On Tuesday morning, defenders presented a statement from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in which they claim that the trials against Navalny are politically motivated.

Navalny accuses Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning.

– Their only way to fight is to kill. I insulted him by surviving, after they tried to kill me on his orders.

The prosecutor emphasized that Navalny had violated his reporting duty even before he was poisoned.

– Do you confirm that after each time you broke the rules, you received a warning that the verdict would be unconditional? Asked the prosecutor.

“I confirm that the fabricated case was used to stop my political activity,” Navalny responded in court.

Reveals corruption

Alexei Navalny, the lawyer turned politician, has become known across Russia for his corruption revelations on social media about property and the enormous wealth of the elite.

Across Russia, tens of thousands have demonstrated for the release of the opposition leader. More than 5,000 were arrested during the demonstrations on Sunday.

Western leaders have expressed concern over the arrests and supported the demand for their release.

High-profile Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova writes on Facebook that nearly 20 embassies are represented in the courtroom, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

– Putin is not following the case

– It is not only an interference in the affairs of a sovereign state, but also shows the desire of the West to rule Russia. Or is it an attempt to put psychological pressure on the judge? Zakharova asks according to Mediazona.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Regnum that the president was not following the trial, but was preparing for a meeting with Russian professors.

The trial and the demonstrations in support of the opposition leader overshadow Russia’s visit to the Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borell, starting Thursday.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia is interested in normalizing relations with the EU and says that Russia will do everything possible to achieve it.