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Russian Opposition Leader Is Spared Jail Russian Opposition Leader Is Spared Jail
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KIROV, Russia — An appeals court judge decided Wednesday to suspend a 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 in Moscow last month. KIROV, Russia — An appellate judge on Wednesday suspended a 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 Moscow’s mayoral election last month.
The ruling meant that Mr. Navalny, who arrived at the court here 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 ruling meant that Mr. Navalny, who arrived at the Kirov Regional Court lugging a backpack of clothes to take with him to prison, will remain free, although he is prohibited from traveling outside his home city, Moscow, and possibly from taking part in electoral politics.
The decision, by Judge Albert A. Prytkov of the Kirov Regional Court, left the sense that Mr. Navalny, 37, had won his freedom by defying expectations with the strong showing in the election, elevating his status and cementing his role as the main political opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin. The decision, by Judge Albert A. Prytkov, left the sense that Mr. Navalny, 37, had won his freedom by defying expectations with his strong showing in the election, elevating his status and cementing his position 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. Mr. Navalny told reporters that although the ruling was a victory, it was “nothing to celebrate” because it could interfere in his future political career. Under a 2012 law that was partially struck down by Russia’s constitutional court last week, making its status unclear, convicted felons are prohibited from running for public office. Also, under terms similar to probation, any minor violation could prompt a judge to order Mr. Navalny to serve the whole term. He will need to check in with a parole officer every two weeks.
Judge Sergei Blinov 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 trial judge, Sergei Blinov, sentenced Mr. Navalny on embezzlement charges in July in a trial widely denounced as rigged. But another judge released him a day later pending the appeal, acting on a request by the same prosecutor who had just won the conviction, suggesting some high-level confusion over what should be done. Mr. Navalny used the window of freedom to revive his campaign 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 mayor of Moscow, who won the election against Mr. Navalny. It was among the most competitive in Moscow 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 mayor of Moscow, who won the election against Mr. Navalny. It was among the most competitive campaigns 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.
Judge Prytkov’s decision suggested a willingness of the Kremlin to tolerate Mr. Navalny's often stinging criticism of Mr. Putin in exchange for the appearance of greater legitimacy for the Russian political system. Another consideration was surely the protests by thousands of people who immediately took to the streets of Moscow after the sentence was issued in July, and the strong likelihood of further big protests were Mr. Navalny to be jailed again.
“The political motivation in this case is obvious,” Mr. Navalny told Judge Prytkov. Judge Prytkov’s decision suggested a willingness by the Kremlin to tolerate Mr. Navalny’s often stinging criticism of Mr. Putin in exchange for the appearance of greater legitimacy for the Russian political system.
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. On his blog, Mr. Navalny thanked his supporters. “The credit belongs to you, not to me,” he wrote. “You have shooed off the Toad on the Pipeline, poking it with a sharp stick,” he continued, using his usual nickname for the Russian president.
The prosecution was built on false testimony, Mr. Navalny said, and the proceedings were 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 courthouse.But ultimately these details mattered little, Mr. Navalny suggested in an interview before the hearing, while walking to the courthouse.
“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.
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. “I have no idea what comes into his head, or the heads of the perverts who surround him,” he said, not letting up even while all but knocking on the gates of the gulag. “All the prosecutors, all the lawyers, all the judges are just extras here.”
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. Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, denied in a comment to the RIA Novosti news agency that the Kremlin had swayed the court in any way on Wednesday.
Judge Prytkov denied both motions. Mr. Navalny, who first gained recognition in the financial community in 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 Mr. Putin.
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. 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.
Mr. Navalny’s lawyer, Olga S. 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.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.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: October 16, 2013

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to Sergei Blinov, the trial judge in the Aleksei A. Navalny case. He did not release Mr. Navalny a day after sentencing him in July; that decision was made by another judge.