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Anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny's trial adjourned Anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny's trial begins and is adjourned
(35 minutes later)
The trial of a Russian opposition leader accused of embezzling more than £300,000-worth of timber from a state-run company has adjourned shortly after its start in a north-western city. The trial of Russia's leading anti-Kremlin activist has started in the provincial city of Kirov, in a case that has spotlighted President Vladimir Putin's refusal to tolerate critics.
Lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who spearheaded anti-government protests in 2011, and his former colleague are accused of leading an organised criminal group that embezzled timber worth 16m roubles (£326,000) from a state-owned company in the city of Kirov. In a scene reminiscent of pre-revolutionary Russia, Alexei Navalny stepped off an overnight train from Moscow – 500 miles and 12 hours away – to attend the trial, accompanied by his wife and dozens of journalists from the country's struggling independent media.
The charges not only threaten to send the 36-year-old Navalny to prison, but strike at the essence of his image as an anti-corruption activist. Navalny says the charges are an act of revenge for his exposure of high-level corruption. The 36-year-old lawyer, corruption crusader and popular blogger has been charged with embezzlement dating back to his time as an adviser to the regional government in 2009. But the case is widely seen as a means of silencing the man who has become Putin's loudest critic.
As the trial began on Wednesday, several dozen activists protested in support of Navalny outside the courthouse in Kirov, chanting, "We will not let you go!" "We say this simple truth – that Putin is a thief – and that's why this trial is happening," Navalny told supporters gathered for a small protest before entering the courtroom on Wednesday.
His lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, asked the court in her opening remarks to adjourn the trial for a month because her client had not been given enough time to read the case files. She also contested the court's refusal to submit financial documents that could prove that what the prosecutors describe as embezzlement was a regular business deal. The judge, Sergei Blinov, adjourned the case after 45 minutes and called a subsequent session for 24 April. Navalny's defence had argued that they were not given enough time to prepare for the trial. However, a delay had been expected as the state seeks to dampen attention on the case.
The judge adjourned the trial for a week until 24 April. "It seems that this is how this trial will be conducted – we will arrive and leave, arrive and leave," Navalny said after the short hearing. "They are interested in making this trial so that everyone gets sick of it."
Even before Navalny became a key figure in the anti-government protests that erupted in 2011, the lawyer was a persistent thorn in the establishment's side with his extensive blogging on high-level corruption in Russia. Authorities admit the trial is connected to his prominent activities, although they deny overt political motivations. With less than 1% of Russian court cases ending in not-guilty verdicts, it is almost certain Navalny will be convicted. He faces up to 10 years in prison – or a suspended sentence, which would forbid him from running for office and kill any hope of a legitimate political career.
Navalny insists the charges are a fabrication intended to silence him on the orders of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who has cracked down on dissent since returning for a third term last year. Navalny's popularity grew on the back of mass anti-Putin protests that swept Moscow early last year. He has since announced presidential aspirations.
Opposition lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov, who came to Kirov, 500 miles (800km) from Moscow, to support the activist, said the investigation against Navalny was biased. Much of his public support, however, has receded amid a Kremlin crackdown that has sown widespread fear among those opposed to Putin. Dozens of protesters have been arrested in the past year and a new legal framework has increased sanctions for those who dare to speak out.
"I've come here because this case is always against me and against all of us," Gudkov said, referring to the Russian opposition movement. "This trial has the same meaning as the one against Khodorkovsky," said Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister turned opposition leader, referring to jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. "Khodorkovsky was tried in order to frighten business. Navalny is being tried in an attempt to scare and stop civil society, protest and activism."
Alexei Kudrin, a former Russian finance minister who served under Putin between 2000 and 2011, voiced his support for Navalny on Tuesday, saying the criminal case against the lawyer "casts doubts on the basics of the market economy in Russia". Navalny, represented by two defence lawyers, will argue that he did not lead a criminal group to embezzle 16 million roubles (£333,000) from a state-run timber firm called Kirovles while advising the region's liberal governor, Nikita Belykh.
"I plan on fully showing my innocence and that this is a political trial," Navalny said. He thanked journalists and supporters for making the voyage to Kirov despite Wednesday's quick hearing: "It's not for nothing – we are fighting for ourselves, for our families, for our freedom. We will be victorious."
About 100 local and visiting supporters occupied a square near the courthouse as Navalny's trial got underway. "We came here to support Navalny and to be a part of history – we will be telling our children about this," Denis Svidayev, 26, a small business owner.
"We can't say that Putin is guilty of absolutely everything that is wrong in the country but yes, he and his team are also guilty," he said. "The worst punishment that thieving officials in our country face is a fine. And every year it becomes more and more obvious that those loyal to government face no punishment in these corruption situations – and this all pours into our deep unhappiness with what is going on."
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