Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader found guilty of embezzlementRetrial conviction prevents anti-corruption activist and critic of Vladimir Putin from running in 2018 presidential election
Alexei Navalny said the verdict at the retrial was copied word for word from his first conviction. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Wednesday 8 February 2017 11.51 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 8 February 2017 11.55 GMT
A court has found Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny guilty of embezzlement in a retrial, barring him from running in the 2018 presidential election.
As the judge read out the sentence on Wednesday, Navalny’s lawyer Olga Mikhailova told journalists the conviction would prevent him from taking part in the election, which he registered for in November.
Vladimir Putin, who has been in power since the end of 1999, is widely expected to run for president again, and his approval ratings remain well above 80%.
Kremlin critic in coma was 'poisoned by undefined substance'
Read moreIn a trial widely seen as a means of silencing him, Navalny was convicted of embezzlement from a state timber company in Kirov in 2013, but he was allowed to run for mayor of Moscow while he appealed the ruling. The 2013 verdict was sent for a retrial by the Russian supreme court after the European court of human rights found procedural violations in it last year.
“The judge will return and read the same thing, which says a lot about this trial,” Navalny told journalists during a break in proceedings.
As the judge read out the guilty verdict in full, the anti-corruption activist tweeted pages before the court heard them, claiming that the verdict was copied word for word from his first conviction.
In a blogpost on Wednesday, Navalny predicted the verdict would be guilty and that whatever the sentence it would hinder his political activity.
“I definitely know that it is guaranteed to not make political activity easier for me or for other independent politicians and activists,” he wrote. “Yet another act of intimidation won’t affect everyone, but it will affect some, which is what this is all being done for.”
Russia's opposition descends into infighting before elections
Read moreAsked before the verdict if the Kremlin was worried that Navalny would lose the right to run for president, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: “We don’t consider any such worries to be appropriate.”
Navalny’s short mayoral campaign in 2013 gained almost 30% of the vote but lost to the Kremlin-backed incumbent, lending credence to the race despite accusations of a flawed electoral process.
Analyst Stanislav Belkovsky said Navalny or another independent candidate could be allowed to run in 2018 for similar reasons.
“The Kremlin hasn’t decided yet if it needs a sparring partner, an effective opponent who will get 10% of the vote and give it legitimacy, and if it does who will it be,” he said.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/08/alexei-navalny-russian-opposition-leader-found-guilty-embezzlement
Alexei Navalny said the verdict at the retrial was copied word for word from his first conviction. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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Wednesday 8 February 2017 11.51 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 8 February 2017 11.55 GMT
A court has found Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny guilty of embezzlement in a retrial, barring him from running in the 2018 presidential election.
As the judge read out the sentence on Wednesday, Navalny’s lawyer Olga Mikhailova told journalists the conviction would prevent him from taking part in the election, which he registered for in November.
Vladimir Putin, who has been in power since the end of 1999, is widely expected to run for president again, and his approval ratings remain well above 80%.
Kremlin critic in coma was 'poisoned by undefined substance'
Read moreIn a trial widely seen as a means of silencing him, Navalny was convicted of embezzlement from a state timber company in Kirov in 2013, but he was allowed to run for mayor of Moscow while he appealed the ruling. The 2013 verdict was sent for a retrial by the Russian supreme court after the European court of human rights found procedural violations in it last year.
“The judge will return and read the same thing, which says a lot about this trial,” Navalny told journalists during a break in proceedings.
As the judge read out the guilty verdict in full, the anti-corruption activist tweeted pages before the court heard them, claiming that the verdict was copied word for word from his first conviction.
In a blogpost on Wednesday, Navalny predicted the verdict would be guilty and that whatever the sentence it would hinder his political activity.
“I definitely know that it is guaranteed to not make political activity easier for me or for other independent politicians and activists,” he wrote. “Yet another act of intimidation won’t affect everyone, but it will affect some, which is what this is all being done for.”
Russia's opposition descends into infighting before elections
Read moreAsked before the verdict if the Kremlin was worried that Navalny would lose the right to run for president, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: “We don’t consider any such worries to be appropriate.”
Navalny’s short mayoral campaign in 2013 gained almost 30% of the vote but lost to the Kremlin-backed incumbent, lending credence to the race despite accusations of a flawed electoral process.
Analyst Stanislav Belkovsky said Navalny or another independent candidate could be allowed to run in 2018 for similar reasons.
“The Kremlin hasn’t decided yet if it needs a sparring partner, an effective opponent who will get 10% of the vote and give it legitimacy, and if it does who will it be,” he said.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/08/alexei-navalny-russian-opposition-leader-found-guilty-embezzlement