The District Court in Moscow has sentenced Alexei Navalny to two and a half years in prison.
The Simonovsky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s critic – Alexei Navalny to two and a half years in prison.
The Court ruled that while Navalny was in Germany, he violated the probation terms from a 2014 case in which he had received a suspended sentence of three and a half years. The Court observed that suspended sentence will now be replaced with a prison term. The judge took into account the 11 months Navalny had already spent under house arrest as part of the decision.
Meanwhile, Navalny ridiculed the claims he broke his parole conditions while recovering from poisoning and denounced Vladimir Putin as “Putin the poisoner.” His lawyer – Olga Mikhailova said that he will appeal the verdict.
The case goes back to 2014 when Navalny was found guilty of fraud after he and his brother Oleg were accused of stealing 30 million Rubles (U.S. $ 540,000) from a Russian subsidiary of French cosmetics company – Yves Rocher. While Navalny was given a suspended sentence, his brother was jailed. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 from the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, immediately after his flight arrived from Germany. He had returned after a period of 5 months, after getting treated in Germany for alleged poisoning with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, which he says was given to him on the orders of Putin.
Navalny’s sentence has been criticised by world leaders who are demanding his immediate release.
The President of Canada – Justin Trudeau tweeted,
Canada strongly condemns Russia’s imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. We call for his immediate release, as well as the release of the peaceful protestors and journalists who have been detained in recent weeks. The justice system must never be abused for political purposes. https://t.co/QlXLelmJwe
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 2, 2021
The United States (U.S.) Secretary of State – Antony Blinken tweeted,
The United States is deeply concerned by Russia’s actions toward Aleksey Navalny. We reiterate our call for his immediate and unconditional release as well as the release of all those wrongfully detained for exercising their rights.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 2, 2021
The Prime Minister of United Kingdom (U.K.) – Boris Johnson tweeted,
Alexey @Navalny's decision to return to Russia after being poisoned was a truly brave and selfless act. In contrast, today's ruling was pure cowardice and fails to meet the most basic standards of justice. Alexey Navalny must be released immediately.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 2, 2021
The President of France – Emmanuel Macron tweeted (translated from French), “Alexey’s verdict @Navalny unacceptable. Political differences are not, under any circumstances, a crime. We call for his immediate release. Respect for human rights, as well as for democratic freedoms, cannot be a subject of discussion.” Original tweet in French:
Приговор Алексею @Navalny недопустим. Политические разногласия ни при каких обстоятельствах не являются преступлением. Мы призываем к его немедленному освобождению. Соблюдение прав Человека, так же, как и демократических свобод, не могут быть предметом обсуждения.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 2, 2021
When prison service representative asked why he had not provided documents to explain the serious reasons that prevented him from showing up for inspections, Navalny shot back: “Coma?”
“Why are you sitting here and telling the court you didn’t know where I was? I fell into a coma, then I was in the ICU, then in rehabilitation. I contacted my lawyer to send you a notice. You had the address, my contact details. What else could I have done to inform you?” he said.
Navalny’s lawyer argued the prison service was well aware of Navalny’s whereabouts as it received a notice from him in early December. His lawyers also presented a letter from Berlin’s Charite Clinic showing that he was in rehabilitation up until his return to Russia.
The Court ruling also added to the anger of Navalny’s supporters who have been protesting across Russia, ever since he was arrested. More than 1,400 supporters have been detained. Navalny’s team had to post a message on Telegram thanking supporters and urging them to go home.
