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Russian Court Upholds Jail Sentence for Prominent Dissident

Prosecutors now say they want a 10-year prison term for Alexei Navalny

Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny / AP
February 18, 2015

A Russian court has upheld a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for prominent dissident Alexei Navalny on charges that he says are politically motivated, Reuters reports.

Navalny’s jail sentence was suspended last year as prosecutors chose to leave him under house arrest. Authorities now say they want to increase his prison term to 10 years.

Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova said she would appeal the verdict in Russian courts and the European Court of Human Rights to have the suspended sentence lifted.

The Navalny brothers were sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on Dec. 30. Oleg is serving his time in jail, while Navalny was given a suspended sentence.

The Navalny brothers were found guilty of defrauding companies by overcharging them for mail and parcel services provided by their business from 2008 to 2011. […]

Although Navalny has little chance of mounting a serious challenge to Putin, he has promised to lead 100,000 people on March 1 in protest against policies he says are leading Russia deeper into economic crisis.

After the brothers were sentenced, Navalny said Putin's government must be destroyed. Hours later, he violated the terms of his detention by cutting off his house arrest tag to attend a rally of supporters who had gathered near the Kremlin.

Navalny had a strong showing in the Moscow mayoral election in September 2013,  surprising many observers and almost forcing his pro-Kremlin opponent into a runoff. His jail sentence is seen by many activists as an attempt to stifle his leadership of Russia’s democratic opposition movement.

Published under: Russia