The defense team of the jailed Russian opposition figure failed to overturn his latest sentence
Moscow City Court rejected on Tuesday an appeal filed by Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny’s legal team. They challenged a March sentence by the Lefortovo District Court on fraud and contempt of court charges.
The ruling means that Navalny, who is already serving a prison term, can be transferred to a penitentiary with higher security, as ordered in his sentence. His previous punishment was two years and eight months of detention at a low-security prison.
In March, a court found him guilty of defrauding donors to his political campaigns and insulting a judge during a previous trial. The sentence provided for a new nine-year prison term to be served concurrently with the one Navalny already had. The court also ordered a fine and an 18-month probation period after his release.
Navany’s legal team appealed the decision, claiming that their client was not guilty in the first place and that the sentence was unlawful.
The veteran opposition figure was put in prison under a separate case involving fraud against the French company Yves Rocher, in which he was originally sentenced to a suspended term. He was put behind bars after violating the term of his parole.
Navalny said he could not meet the requirements due to an alleged assassination attempt against him, which he blamed on the Russian government. He was flown to Germany from Russia in August 2020 after suffering a serious health issue.
Moscow denies pursuing a vendetta against the opposition activist and claims he’s been used by foreign adversaries to tarnish Russia’s reputation.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com
