The politician accuses Vladmir Putin of trying to poison him last year, which is why he had to flee the country and consequently violate his parole
The Justice of Russia condemned Alexei Navalny, the main opponent of the president Vladimir Putin, to three and a half years in prison. Considering the months in which the accused has already been under house arrest, two years and eight months remain to be served by him. During the session held on Tuesday, 2, Navalny was accused of violating the parole of a 2014 sentence by failing to present himself to the authorities as he should last year. The 2014 trial, related to fraud and money laundering, was considered arbitrary by the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, Alexei Navalny violated his probation by staying out of the country throughout 2020 recovering from a poisoning attempt – which he accuses Vladmir Putin of having orchestrated.
The opponent’s lawyers have said they will appeal the sentence. Meanwhile, Russia rejected all criticism from the international community of Navalni’s detention and the disproportionate use of force by the police against protesters in the January 23 and 31 protests in support of the opposition leader, in which nearly 10,000 people were detained . Tuesday, 2, was also marked by the arrest of another 350 people in the vicinity of the court. The police even closed the entrances to the Red Square, where the sentence was read, and reinforced security in various parts of the city, in anticipation of the protests.
* With information from EFE
