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MORE THAN 1,400 protesters were detained by Russian authorities during rallies supporting Alexei Navalny, a civil monitoring group said today, after the Kremlin’s most prominent critic was jailed for nearly three years amid international condemnation.
The court’s decision today to turn a 2014 suspended sentence into real jail time will see the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner — who accuses Moscow of poisoning him last year — serve a lengthy prison term.
Britain, France, Germany, the United States and the European Union denounced the ruling and called for his immediate release, as Moscow accused the West of interfering in its affairs.
By early today, 1,408 people had been detained across Russian cities — mostly in Moscow and Saint Petersburg — the civil monitoring group OVD-Info said. Many were detained before Navalny’s sentence.
Navalny’s supporters had earlier called for more demonstrations against the decision after thousands joined nationwide protests against his arrest over the last two weekends.
The case is presenting one of the most serious challenges to the Kremlin in years, with some in the West calling for new sanctions against Russia.
Judge Natalya Repnikova ordered a suspended three-and-a-half-year sentence Navalny received on fraud charges in 2014 to be changed to time in a penal colony, an AFP journalist at the courthouse said.
He was accused of violating parole conditions by refusing to check in with prison officials and was arrested when he flew back to Moscow on 17 January from Germany, where he spent months recovering from a poisoning.
Navalny said it was impossible to make the appointments while abroad, but the judge said he had skipped meetings prior to the poisoning.
‘Poisoner of underpants’
Navalny had spent time under house arrest after the 2014 conviction — which was denounced by the European Court of Human Rights — and Repnikova said that would count as time served.
His lawyer Olga Mikhailova said he would now serve around two years and eight months in prison.
His legal team plan to appeal, she added, with Navalny expected to stay in detention in Moscow during that process.
His Anti-Corruption Fund immediately called for a protest in central Moscow.
Several hundred of his supporters marched through the streets and AFP journalists saw police in riot gear detaining dozens across the city centre.
Videos released by local media showed officers hitting protesters with batons and chasing them through the streets.
In a fiery courtroom speech ahead of the ruling, Navalny accused Putin of trying to intimidate his critics.
“They are putting one person behind bars to scare millions,” he said.
And he mocked the Russian leader over allegations the Novichok nerve agent used to poison him had been placed in his underwear, telling the court that Putin “will go down in history as a poisoner of underpants”.
‘Pure cowardice’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for Navalny’s release, warning Washington and its allies would “hold Russia accountable for failing to uphold the rights of its citizens”.
French President Emmanuel Macron also called for his release, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel labelling the decision “far removed from any rule of law” and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling it “pure cowardice”.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, due to visit Moscow later this week, said it “runs counter to Russia’s international commitments on rule of law and fundamental freedoms”.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the Western reaction as “disconnected from reality”, adding: “There is no need to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Moscow and other Russian cities over the last two weekends to call for Navalny’s release, prompting a massive police clampdown.
“Under this regime, life is getting harder and harder, we have no future … no one has a future. It will only get worse,” Alexander, a 27-year-old engineer, told AFP near Red Square.
Exposing corruption
While he has never held elected office, Navalny has made a name for himself with anti-graft investigations exposing the wealthy lifestyles of Russia’s elite.
Two days after he was placed in pre-trial custody last month, his team released an investigation into an opulent seaside property Navalny claims was given to Putin through a billion-dollar scheme financed by close associates who head state companies.
The probe was published alongside a YouTube video report, now viewed more than 100 million times.
Putin denied owning the property. Last week a billionaire businessman close to the Russian leader, Arkady Rotenberg, said he was the owner and was turning it into a hotel.
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When you read stories like this you appreciate how freedom of speech can be taken for granted! Saw interviews with him and he seems like such a normal nice guy standing up for what he believes in. Putin needs to be taken down
@Brian Conroy: Agree.
We’re too busy being outraged by a Garda dance video.
A little perspective needed…
@Brian Conroy: he’s not perfect, his position and comments on Muslims is frankly quite appalling. Saying that, he cares about his country, showing how to be brave in the face of state corruption while doing so by embarrassing Putin’s inept and bubbling attempts to silence him and others. His remarks in court “Putin poisoner of underpants” throw further insult at the establishment.
Brave man going up against Putin, it’ll be a long sentence always wondering which piece of food or drink has the Novichok in it!
It’s great to see all of the widespread international outrage and world leaders including President Joe Biden and Prime minister Boris Johnson publicly condemning wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and trumped up charges being used to silence an outspoken critic, it must be very heart warming for Julian Assange..
@David Van-Standen:. Assange is an enemy of the West who tried to expose war crimes. Navalny is a tool of the West, primed to provoke civil unrest. Assange will take cold comfort.
@Kieran Woods: Julian Assange didn’t try anything, he did expose actual documented war crimes and the fact that they were covered up.
Not by a few “rogue actors on the ground”, but that it was a systematic policy up to the highest levels of the armed services and politics, to cover up, misrepresent, lie and continue to lie over and over again.
When this web of lies along with many other nefarious actions were exposed, suddenly the narrative was purposely misdirected by those in power, away from these documented revelations and any consideration of holding anyone to account and instead focused on demonising Assange as the messenger and now alleged “enemy of the west” with the cooperation of the media and foreign governments, for the heinous crime of exposing the truth.
Would never see corruption here.?
@Pauline Fedigan: there is a difference between corruption and locking up political opponents and detaining protesters. Yes our country is disgustingly corrupt. It has been since the foundation of the state, we learned from the best. But we don’t do this.
@Pauline Fedigan: no comparison
An affront to Democracy, to the Rule of Law, to standards of ordinary common decency from a supposed first world sovereign state, and to Y front undergarment designers,manufacturers, & sellers everywhere, who must now introduce new safety measure instructions before use.
A new low for the Russian State, under Putin!
The Y Front might be a good name for that new Black Sea Hotel, that Putin claims to not own.
And this strangely turns out just about release o his new documentary showing putins palace… if Russian people don’t stand up now to face this corruption they might never will…
@Marcin Goralski: Putin’s palace is a fake story.
Nothing will change, we will continue to do business with Russia, China and Burma, not to mention Saudi Arabia. Money makes the world go around and that is the harsh reality, it is good to hear condemnation but ordinary people need to realise Governments won’t change things. They never do. So stop buying Russian goods, Chinese goods, Saudi goods, yes that won’t happen either. We all want cheap clothes and phones etc etc and we all want to use our cars. The only way we can act is with personal messages. Join Amnesty International and add your voice to those that say enough is enough.
@Brendan Quinn: US and UK cause much more global destruction and killing than the countries you mentioned there but no call to boycott their goods. We would import almost nothing if we follow our conscious.
Everyone needs to read Red Notice. It’s absolutely crazy what Putin has done over the years. He is the richest man on the planet also.
@John Sadlier: Not everyone swallows that “factual” book. One Australian critic wrote “The book is an elaborate fabrication, designed to prevent Browder answering allegations of tax-evasion and securities fraud in Russia. Browder has used highly paid PR consultants in order to appeal to the emotion of the reader, while if anybody cares to look for solid, concrete evidence, in the book, it is sorely lacking.
This author has used his power and influence to tell cynical politicians what they want to hear, because well, who doesn’t want to sanction Russia, right?”
The hypocrisy of western media and leadership when Chelsea Manning and julian Assange are still locked up,
Lads putin is no all powerful dictator he is a figurehead of one group of oligarchs and navalny the poster boy of an other, who can do more damage to Putin locked up than free. Analysis news’s Paul jay interviewed Alexander buzgail (a marxists and not a supporter of Putin) worth a watch, who call navalny an neo liberal s.o.b. who will let in foreign capital and return Russia to the 90s and 75% poverty, if you have read Vijay prashad Washington bullets this is a text book start to a colour revolution
@Pablo Lord: my last comment was removed
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