Kremlin critic Navalny given suspended sentence, brother jailed

By Maria Tsvetkova
A Russian court gave Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a suspended sentence on Tuesday for embezzling money but jailed his brother for three and a half years in a case seen as part of a campaign to stifle dissent.
As hundreds of his supporters gathered in front of the Kremlin, Navalny broke house arrest to join the rally but was swiftly detained and driven back home by police. Police dispersed the protest after two hours, detaining more than 100 people.
Navalny led mass demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin three years ago, when tens of thousands took to the streets in Moscow and St Petersburg to protest against corruption in his government and inner circle.
Opposition figures say jailing Navalny risked a new wave of protests so he was being punished through his brother instead.
In Washington, the US State Department described the sentencing and jailing as a disturbing development that appeared “designed to further punish and deter political activism”.
The European Union also said the verdict seemed to be politically motivated, while a German official said the ruling was a blow to civil society.
The Navalny brothers, Alexei and Oleg, were accused of stealing 30 million roubles, around $500,000 at the current exchange rate, from two firms including an affiliate of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher between 2008 and 2012.
Tuesday’s ruling will come as a relief for Navalny’s supporters after prosecutors asked that he be imprisoned for 10 years. The Kremlin denies allegations that it uses the courts to persecute opponents.
Officials have taken few steps to investigate Navalny’s corruption allegations. He claimed there was mass embezzlement, including in state bank VTB and pipeline monopoly Transneft, run by close allies of Putin.
“Aren’t you ashamed of what you are doing?” Navalny told the court and judge Yelena Korobchenko. “Why are you putting him (my brother Oleg) in prison? To punish me even harder?”
Currently under house arrest, Alexei Navalny is serving another suspended five-year jail term for a separate conviction last year, which critics also called a sham.
“The authorities are torturing and destroying relatives of their political opponents. This regime doesn’t deserve to exist, it must be destroyed,” Navalny told reporters outside the court as he was escorted in a car for prisoners.
Putin’s popularity has soared over the past year since Moscow’s annexation of the Russian-speaking Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, which led to the worst stand-off with the West since the end of the Cold War. This has eroded the popularity of opposition leaders such as Navalny.

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