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It is a verdict that many observers have expected.
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday evening.
This deducted ten months that the Kremlin critic had to spend under house arrest during the ongoing proceedings.
His remaining sentence is approximately two years and eight months.
Christian Esch, DER SPIEGEL
“It was a very strange trial. Simply by the sheer absurdity of the case. Because the man now has to face a sentence that was imposed in 2014 and has since been presented by the European Court of Human Rights as completely impossible. It violates both Article 6 and Article 7 of the Convention on Human Rights. That is to say: Navalny was not only denied the right to a fair trial, but there is no offense at all, no offense at all that could be ascribed to him and dealt with with a trial. "
Nawlany is charged with violating the probation requirements of a previous conviction.
The 2014 criminal case concerned the “Yves Rocher” case.
Navalny and his brother Oleg had defrauded the Russian branch of the French cosmetics company, the judge ruled at the time.
Now Navalny was accused of not reporting regularly.
His lawyers argued that his medical treatment in Germany and the subsequent rehab did not end until February 15.
The Kremlin critic only barely survived an assassination attempt with the chemical warfare agent Novichok in August.
It is still unclear which penal colony Navalny will be brought to after the verdict has been announced.
Christian Esch, DER SPIEGEL
“There was a big courtroom, lots of journalists, not a single friend or colleague apart from journalists, they wouldn't have gotten in there either, including a lot of Western diplomats. Navalny could be seen in a glass case. Stood there in his blue hoodie. In the first row of the audience his wife Julia. The two made contact with each other in between. And it was noticeable that when the verdict was read at the end, Navalny painted hearts from the inside on the pane of glass and smiled at her to give her courage. "
Navalny's supporters called for protests in central Moscow immediately after the verdict.
The security forces were put on alert during the ongoing process.