Russian oppn leader Navalny found guilty of embezzlement

Russia’s main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been found guilty of embezzlement and handed a five-year suspended sentence, reports BBC.
It bars him from running for president next year against Vladimir Putin.
He was convicted yesterday in a retrial after the European Court of Human Rights ruled the first trial to be unfair.
An outspoken critic of President Putin, Navalny has denied the accusations, saying the case is politically motivated.
Navalny, 40, is known for his anti-corruption campaign, which targeted senior officials close to the Kremlin. He says the case against him is an effort to keep him out of politics.
He had recently stepped up his political activity after announcing plans last year to run for the presidency in 2018. Putin is allowed by the constitution to run for a second consecutive six-year term, but he has not said yet if he plans to do so.
Navalny’s rise as a force in Russian politics began in 2008 when he started blogging about alleged malpractice and corruption at some of Russia’s big state-controlled corporations.

He described the president’s United Russia as “the party of crooks and thieves”, a phrase that stuck among many in Russia.
He stood for Moscow mayor in 2013 and got more than a quarter of the vote, a surprise for many.
At the start of the verdict, judge Alexei Vtyurin said the court had established that Navalny had “’organised” the theft.
Under Russian law, he is banned from running for office for 10 years after being convicted of a serious crime.
Navalny told journalists during a break in the judge’s reading that the judgment was a replica of the first trial.
“So far the new verdict and old verdict are 100 per cent comparable, including all the commas, spelling mistakes and even the order in which they put out testimonials. Everything was taken from the old verdict.
“It’s wonderful and says a lot about this trial,” he said, jokingly.
Asked if Navalny’s absence from the presidential race would undermine the legitimacy of the election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters before the verdict session: “We believe any concerns about this are inappropriate.”

Russian oppn leader Navalny found guilty of embezzlement

Russias main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been found guilty of embezzlement and handed a five-year suspended sentence, reports BBC. It bars him from running for president next year against Vladimir Putin. He was convicted yesterday in a retrial after the European Court of Human Rights ruled the first trial to be unfair. An outspoken critic of President Putin, Navalny has denied the accusations, saying the case is politically motivated. Navalny, 40, is known for his anti-corruption campaign, which targeted senior officials close to the Kremlin. He says the case against him is an effort to keep him out of politics. He had recently stepped up his political activity after announcing plans last year to run for the presidency in 2018. Putin is allowed by the constitution to run for a second consecutive six-year term, but he has not said yet if he plans to do so. Navalnys rise as a force in Russian politics began in 2008 when he started blogging about alleged malpractice and corruption at some of Russias big state-controlled corporations. He described the presidents United Russia as the party of crooks and thieves, a phrase that stuck among many in Russia. He stood for Moscow mayor in 2013 and got more than a quarter of the vote, a surprise for many. At the start of the verdict, judge Alexei Vtyurin said the court had established that Navalny had organised the theft. Under Russian law, he is banned from running for office for 10 years after being convicted of a serious crime. Navalny told journalists during a break in the judges reading that the judgment was a replica of the first trial. So far the new verdict and old verdict are 100 per cent comparable, including all the commas, spelling mistakes and even the order in which they put out testimonials. Everything was taken from the old verdict. Its wonderful and says a lot about this trial, he said, jokingly. Asked if Navalnys absence from the presidential race would undermine the legitimacy of the election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters before the verdict session: We believe any concerns about this are inappropriate.