The presence of EU diplomats in the court for the trial of Alexei Navalny
"is fully in line with their mandate and with the rules. Especially in cases involving human rights, it is in our interest to observe. We have done so in the past and we continue to do so".
This is how the spokesman of the European External Action Service,
Peter Stano
, replies to journalists who ask him why the presence of European diplomats in the classroom.
Urged by reporters, Stano explained that the EU continues to follow the story of the historian Iouri Dmitriev, an "unacceptable" case, adding that if possible EU diplomats will go to court.
The
district court Babushkinsky Moscow
resumed the libel trial of Alexei Navalny, accused of slandering a veteran of World War II.
"The diplomatic representatives of Latvia and Estonia are present in court," the court service told Interfax.
According to other sources, an official from the EU diplomatic representation in Russia is also present.
Navalny is present in the classroom.
The prosecutor began presenting evidence in the previous court session, which took place on February 5.
World War II veteran Ignat Artyomenko, the injured party, went to court, speaking via video link from home.
Artyomenko said he was waiting for Navalny's public apology.
Prosecutors say on June 2, 2020, Navalny posted a Twitter and Telegram post about a video that aired on the RT television channel, in support of amendments to Russia's Constitution, featuring war veteran Artyomenko.
Navalny, according to the indictment, posted a comment that contained knowingly false information denigrating Artyomenko's honor and dignity.
Navalny was subsequently charged with slander.
The opposition activist has pleaded not guilty and describes the case as politically motivated.
The
Bitcoin
runs in help from Alexey Navalny.
In fact, according to what was reconstructed by the Moscow Times, the public data of the blockchain show that a Bitcoin address linked to Navalny received 3.5 Bitcoins (about 120,000 dollars) at the end of January, when supporters rushed to donate to enemy number one. of the Kremlin after his return to Russia and subsequent incarceration.
The data shows that Navalny's team received more Bitcoin donations in January than in all of 2020. In total, publicly available information shows that over the past five years, 658 Bitcoins - worth more than $ 30 million at current rates - were sent to the cryptocurrency wallet managed by Navalny's aides.
At the time the wallet, which is managed by Leonid Volkov, who was recently the subject of an international arrest warrant from Moscow, contained 1.5 Bitcoin.
Speaking to the Moscow Times, Volkov said the team sees the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies as a useful tool for circumventing Russian authorities, who have increased their crackdown on Navalny and his supporters, including their often-targeted funds. blockades and seizures.