This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/03/russian-court-trial-alexey-navalny
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Russian court announces trial of opposition leader Alexey Navalny | Russian court announces trial of opposition leader Alexey Navalny |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A provincial Russian court has announced it will launch the trial of Alexey Navalny on 17 April, in a case widely believed to be targeted at silencing the popular opposition leader. | |
| The case against Navalny, one of the loudest critics of Vladimir Putin, threatens to revive the tensions that swept Moscow last year, when thousands of people took to the streets of the capital to protest against the powerful president's longtime reign. Navalny helped organise the protests and has continued to attack Putin and his supporters via investigations into corruption posted on his popular blog. | |
| Navalny's supporters have promised to go to Kirov, a city about 500 miles north-east of Moscow infamous as a site of tsarist-era exile, to attend the trial. | Navalny's supporters have promised to go to Kirov, a city about 500 miles north-east of Moscow infamous as a site of tsarist-era exile, to attend the trial. |
| Navalny, 36, has been charged with stealing 10,000 cubic metres of timber and causing loses of 16m roubles (£335,000) to the regional Kirov government while acting as an adviser to its liberal governor in 2009. Navalny, who has built his reputation on battling corruption, has vehemently denied the charges. He faces up to 10 years in jail. | |
| "It's absolutely clear that this is politically motivated," said his lawyer, Olga Mikhailova. "He did nothing illegal – and there is not one piece of evidence to conflict with this point of view." | "It's absolutely clear that this is politically motivated," said his lawyer, Olga Mikhailova. "He did nothing illegal – and there is not one piece of evidence to conflict with this point of view." |
| Navalny and his supporters argue that the case has been concocted in order to pressure him into ending his campaign against Putin's government. "The criminal case against Navalny has been entirely fabricated by employees of Russia's Investigative Committee, on the order of Vladimir Putin," reads a banner on a website Navalny launched to present his side of the story. | Navalny and his supporters argue that the case has been concocted in order to pressure him into ending his campaign against Putin's government. "The criminal case against Navalny has been entirely fabricated by employees of Russia's Investigative Committee, on the order of Vladimir Putin," reads a banner on a website Navalny launched to present his side of the story. |
| Navalny has already served two 15-day jail sentences for taking part in the anti-Putin protests. His home, as well as those of his relatives and associates, have been raided by masked Russian agents. His brother was charged with fraud in December, which government critics claimed was a further means of putting pressure on the opposition activist. | |
| Navalny has only redoubled his efforts, publishing corruption investigations into leading duma deputies and continuing his acerbic attacks on Putin. | Navalny has only redoubled his efforts, publishing corruption investigations into leading duma deputies and continuing his acerbic attacks on Putin. |
| He has now been swept up in the Kremlin's ruthless crackdown, launched shortly after Putin returned to the presidency last May. Dozens of protesters are awaiting trial for participating in a demonstration on 6 May that turned violent, while two members of the anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot are serving two-year jail sentences, and Russia's human rights community has been targeted in a series of raids over the past few weeks. | |
| "There is no doubt that it will be a guilty verdict," Navalny said in remarks posted on the site pertaining to the case. | "There is no doubt that it will be a guilty verdict," Navalny said in remarks posted on the site pertaining to the case. |
| The conviction rate in Russia's courts is almost 100% – once a case is brought a guilty verdict is almost inevitable, unless the case is thrown out. Holding the trial in Kirov, far from Moscow, will likely lessen daily media attention. | The conviction rate in Russia's courts is almost 100% – once a case is brought a guilty verdict is almost inevitable, unless the case is thrown out. Holding the trial in Kirov, far from Moscow, will likely lessen daily media attention. |