02/02/2021 15:53
Clarín.com
World
Updated 02/02/2021 15:53
Alexei Navalny, the Russian political leader most critical of Vladimir Putin, was
sentenced to 3 years and 5 months in prison
by a judge of the Simonovsky district court, who met for the occasion at the headquarters of the city of Moscow, reported this Tuesday the Dozhd agency.
"They can't lock up hundreds of thousands," Navalny said at his pre-conviction hearing.
"I am hopeful that more and more people understand this, and that when that happens, all this falls apart, because
you cannot lock up an entire country,
" he added.
Navalny received the conviction because he had
violated the conditions
of probation that had been imposed on him due to a sentence for money laundering in 2014 that was suspended.
The man has been detained since returning from Germany on January 17, where he spent
five months recovering from a
neurotoxin
poisoning
that he blames the Kremlin for.
Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's wife, outside the court where he was tried.
Photo: REUTER
Navalny and his lawyers maintain that during his recovery in Germany
he was unable to appear before the Russian authorities
in person as required by his parole.
In turn, he also insisted that his right to due process was violated during his detention and described his incarceration as a parody of justice.
Although the 44-year-old leader can appeal the verdict, everything indicates that the climate in the upper echelons of Moscow would not be on his side.
Protests and arrests
In recent times, several of his allies and assistants have been jailed.
On Sunday, authorities deployed large police units across the country in an attempt to suppress and disperse the demonstrations that had gathered to call for Navalny's freedom.
Police detained more than 5,750 people in Sunday's protests, including more than 1,900 in Moscow, a record since Soviet times.
Some were beaten
.
A group of people arrested after protesting the conviction of Alexei Navalny.
Photo: AFP.
Navalny's team called another demonstration in front of the Moscow court on Tuesday, but police were deployed in the vicinity of the building.
He cordoned off nearby streets and made random arrests.
More than 120 people were arrested, according to the detention monitoring group OVD-Info.
Despite the police cordons, some Navalny supporters managed to approach the court.
A young woman climbed into a pile of snow across the street and showed
a sign with the phrase "Freedom for Navalny."
Less than a minute later, the police took her down.
More darts against Putin
Following his arrest, Navalny's team posted a two-hour video on YouTube of an opulent Black Sea residence allegedly built for Putin.
E
l video has more than 100 million views
, stoking discontent among ordinary Russians facing an economic crisis and pandemic coronavirus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo: REUTER
Putin insisted last week that neither he nor his relatives own any of the properties mentioned in the video.
A person close to the president, construction magnate Arkady Rotenbergm claimed to be the owner.
As part of their efforts to curb the protests, authorities have targeted the opposition's associates and activists across the country.
His brother, Oleg Navalny;
His main partner, Lyubov Sobol, and several others
were under house arrest for two months
and face criminal charges for violating restrictions to combat the coronavirus.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is scheduled to visit Russia later this week, criticized the arrests and the disproportionate use of force against protesters, stressing that Russia must abide by its international commitments.
Russia called the criticism from US and EU officials interference in its internal affairs.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to talk about Navalny, but warned that it will not heed criticism from the West.
The police presence around the court where Navalny was convicted made itself felt.
Photo: BLOOMBERG
"We are ready to patiently explain everything, but we are not going to react to sobering statements or take them into account," Peskov said during a conference call with reporters.
Source: agencies
Look also
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