This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/world/europe/russian-opposition-leader-is-spared-jail.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Russian Opposition Leader Is Spared Jail | Russian Opposition Leader Is Spared Jail |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| KIROV, Russia — An appeals court judge decided Wednesday to suspend the five-year sentence handed down over the summer to Aleksei A. Navalny, the anticorruption crusader and blogger whose role as Russia’s leading opposition politician was highlighted by an unexpectedly strong showing in a mayoral election last month. | |
| The ruling meant that Mr. Navalny, who arrived at the court lugging a backpack of clean clothes to take with him to prison, will remain free — although prohibited from traveling outside his home city, Moscow. | |
| The decision left the sense that Mr. Navalny, 37, had won his freedom by defying expectations with the strong showing in the election in Moscow, elevating his status and cementing his role as the main political opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin. | The decision left the sense that Mr. Navalny, 37, had won his freedom by defying expectations with the strong showing in the election in Moscow, elevating his status and cementing his role as the main political opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin. |
| Mr. Navalny told reporters that although the ruling was a victory, it was “nothing to celebrate” because it would interfere in his future political career. He could be prohibited from running from public office, and under terms similar to probation, any minor violation could prompt a judge to order Mr. Navalny to serve the whole term. | |
| A judge had sentenced Mr. Navalny on embezzlement charges in July in a trial widely denounced as rigged, only to release him a day later while his application to the appeals court was taken under consideration. Mr. Navalny used the window of freedom to run for mayor of Moscow, finishing in second place, with 27 percent of the vote. | A judge had sentenced Mr. Navalny on embezzlement charges in July in a trial widely denounced as rigged, only to release him a day later while his application to the appeals court was taken under consideration. Mr. Navalny used the window of freedom to run for mayor of Moscow, finishing in second place, with 27 percent of the vote. |
| The decision to release Mr. Navalny in July appeared to reflect divisions among Mr. Putin’s advisers but was seen as supported in particular by Sergei S. Sobyanin, the incumbent mayor of Moscow, who won the election against Mr. Navalny. It was among the most competitive here in a decade. | The decision to release Mr. Navalny in July appeared to reflect divisions among Mr. Putin’s advisers but was seen as supported in particular by Sergei S. Sobyanin, the incumbent mayor of Moscow, who won the election against Mr. Navalny. It was among the most competitive here in a decade. |
| Analysts argued that Mr. Sobyanin, who was all but assured of victory, wanted Mr. Navalny’s candidacy to create an appearance of competition and add legitimacy to the race. | Analysts argued that Mr. Sobyanin, who was all but assured of victory, wanted Mr. Navalny’s candidacy to create an appearance of competition and add legitimacy to the race. |
| The suspension of the sentence Wednesday suggested a willingness of the Kremlin to accept the trade-off in greater legitimacy for the political system here in exchange for tolerating Mr. Navalny’s often stinging criticism of Mr. Putin. | The suspension of the sentence Wednesday suggested a willingness of the Kremlin to accept the trade-off in greater legitimacy for the political system here in exchange for tolerating Mr. Navalny’s often stinging criticism of Mr. Putin. |
| “The political motivation in this case is obvious,” Mr. Navalny told the judge, Albert A. Prytkov of the Kirov Regional Court. | “The political motivation in this case is obvious,” Mr. Navalny told the judge, Albert A. Prytkov of the Kirov Regional Court. |
| The prosecution was built on false testimony, Mr. Navalny said, and the proceedings railroaded through a provincial court that refused his requests for witnesses and outside experts. | The prosecution was built on false testimony, Mr. Navalny said, and the proceedings railroaded through a provincial court that refused his requests for witnesses and outside experts. |
| But ultimately these details mattered little, Mr. Navalny suggested in an interview before the hearing, while walking to the courthousek. | |
| “Everything that happened last summer and everything that happens today depends on Putin,” he said. “All the prosecutors, all the lawyers, all the judges are just extras here.” | “Everything that happened last summer and everything that happens today depends on Putin,” he said. “All the prosecutors, all the lawyers, all the judges are just extras here.” |
| Mr. Navalny, who first gained recognition in financial circlesin Moscow as an advocate for minority shareholders in state companies, defied expectations by using social networking and grass-roots organizing to broaden his appeal and breathe new life into the beleaguered opposition to President Putin. | |
| On Wednesday, lawyers for Mr. Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov, a businessman Mr. Navalny is accused of aiding in a scheme to steal the proceeds from a lumber sale, filed motions requesting that an independent economist be allowed to analyze the transaction and that the court hear additional witnesses. | On Wednesday, lawyers for Mr. Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov, a businessman Mr. Navalny is accused of aiding in a scheme to steal the proceeds from a lumber sale, filed motions requesting that an independent economist be allowed to analyze the transaction and that the court hear additional witnesses. |
| Judge Prytkov denied both motions. | Judge Prytkov denied both motions. |
| Mr. Navalny’s lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, also told the court that the conviction should be overturned because it violated several rights protected by the European Court of Human Rights, including protections against political prosecution. A page of text in the verdict, she pointed out, had been copied word for word from the indictment. | Mr. Navalny’s lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, also told the court that the conviction should be overturned because it violated several rights protected by the European Court of Human Rights, including protections against political prosecution. A page of text in the verdict, she pointed out, had been copied word for word from the indictment. |
| In his closing statement, Mr. Navalny, whose humor and willingness to thumb his nose at the Kremlin has been intrinsic to his political success, noted that he had already delivered his last words before prison in July, and so did not want to go through the trouble of a lengthy speech again. | |
| “The last word of the accused should be a dramatic moment in his life,” Mr. Navalny said. “But they opened so many cases against me that this will not be my last chance to have a last word.” | “The last word of the accused should be a dramatic moment in his life,” Mr. Navalny said. “But they opened so many cases against me that this will not be my last chance to have a last word.” |