Navalni’s appeal for’Putin static’ dismissed… Reduced sentence by 6 weeks

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalni attended the appeal on the 20th. © Reuters=News1 ©

Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalni rejected the appeal on the 20th. However, the sentence that was originally 3 years and 6 months was reduced by 6 weeks.

According to Reuters and AFP, Judge Dmitry Ballashov rejected Navalni’s appeal and retained the court’s decision to cancel the probation.

Navalni claimed innocence for violating the probation obligation, saying that he received treatment after a fatal poisoning attack in August last year, and was unable to report it to correctional authorities because he was in medical care in Germany. He also claimed that his judgment was’political’, but it was not accepted.

Earlier, Navalni was sentenced to five years probation after three years and six months in prison for fraud in 2014, but he is living in jail after his probation has been canceled for violating his obligations on the 2nd.

However, the sentence was reduced by six weeks by adding the house pension period. So, if you include the currently recognized house pension period out of 3 years and 6 months, 44-year-old Navalni will spend the next 2 years and 6 months in prison.

Meanwhile, Navalni appears in court again in another case this afternoon. He is accused of defamation for slandering a World War II veteran who supported the amendment of the constitution that paved the way for President Putin’s long-term power. The prosecution sought a fine of 950,000 rubles (about 14.19 million won). There is a possibility that the fine will change to imprisonment.

Navalni fell down after drinking black tea containing’nobichok’, a type of poison developed by the former Soviet Union in August last year, and was transferred to Germany for six months of treatment and returned to Korea on the 17th of last month. The Russian correctional authorities filed a lawsuit with the court for cancellation of probation just before he returned home, and was arrested at the airport immediately after his return.

Navalni’s arrest and imprisonment sparked national street protests in Russia. However, protesters’ protests have been suspended for two weeks due to the police’s hard-line crackdown and the decision to ban the assembly in the name of COVID-19 prevention.

[email protected]