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Putin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny detained by police after breaking house arrest Putin critic Alexei Navalny detained by police after breaking house arrest to protest embezzlement verdict
(about 3 hours later)
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained by police after breaking house arrest to join an opposition rally in Moscow. The Zamoskovoretsky courtroom is a few minutes’ walk away from Paveletsky train station in the centre of Moscow. When the two Navalny brothers and their wives arrived there today, the smiles appeared sincere.
"I was detained," Navalny said on his Twitter account. "But they won't be able to detain everyone". From early this morning, the court was cordoned off by police. The Navalny brothers, Alexei and Oleg, had their day in court. It was not their first. Tonight, it appeared likely that it would not be their last.
Russian authorities had brought forward a verdict in a controversial fraud case involving Alexei, a leading opposition politician, and his brother. Judge Elena Korobchenko found both men guilty but unexpectedly sentenced Oleg Navalny, not Alexei, to a custodial sentence of three-and-a-half years. Alexei, meanwhile, was handed a suspended sentence of equal length.
He was free to return to house arrest, but that was not how events unfolded. He travelled towards Moscow’s Manezh Square near the Kremlin, urging his supporters, the number of which later grew to several thousand, “not to leave until they are forced to”. Before he could arrive at the protest, he was arrested. He subsequently tweeted: “They cannot arrest everyone.”
Домашний арест-это да, но сегодня мне очень хочется быть с вами. Поэтому я тоже еду. #Манежка pic.twitter.com/xkWGX0Hp4FДомашний арест-это да, но сегодня мне очень хочется быть с вами. Поэтому я тоже еду. #Манежка pic.twitter.com/xkWGX0Hp4F
Earlier a Russian court gave the outspoken Putin critic a suspended sentence 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. An announcement from the Moscow Mayor’s office said that the rally would be dealt with robustly, adding: “All unauthorised actions will be suppressed by law enforcement agencies. There is no alternative.”
Navalny led mass protests against 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. The brothers were accused of stealing about 30 million roubles (£345,000) from two companies, including an affiliate of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher, between 2008 and 2012.
Opposition figures say jailing Navalny risked a new wave of protests so he was being punished through his brother instead. The EU said the verdict appeared to be politically motivated and a German official said the ruling was a blow to civil society. Judge Korobchenko had planned to deliver her verdict on 15 January, but it was brought forward to this morning. Court secretaries explained the move by saying the judgment was “ready earlier than expected”.
Police arresting Alexei Navalny on his way to the protest last night for breaking the terms of his house arrest (AP) To many of the brothers’ supporters, however, the verdict was seen as linked to the success of a Facebook campaign set up by Mr Navalny’s ally and former election manager Leonid Volkov. Despite early attempts to block the page, more than 30,000 people had indicated their readiness to risk arrest and to go out to protest against the widely anticipated guilty verdict.
Speaking to The Independent, Mr Volkov said he believed that the decision to bring forward sentencing had been taken out of “fear” and a hope that Mr Navalny’s supporters would be unprepared the day before the country’s main holiday.
Few of the many supporters and journalists gathered earlier in the day were given access to the area immediately in front of the court building. But a group of Alexei Navalny’s opponents were given prime access and from the early morning were seen waving banners saying: “Navalny’s place is behind bars.”
As the judge began her sentencing, police were seen pushing crowds further away from the court. One of the officers admitted that he had only heard about the sentence late in the preceding evening, and complained that he had been forced to get up at 4.30am.
Another policeman was asked how long he would be required to brave the bitter cold. He replied: “That depends on how quickly the judge imprisons Navalny.”
During sentencing, the brothers stood together, smiling at one another. Once the verdict had been delivered, Oleg embraced his brother, wife and parents, before being placed inside a cell.
Yulia (left), wife of Alexei Navalny and Victoria, wife of Alexei's brother and co-defendant Oleg, after the court hearing in Moscow (Getty) Oleg Navalny’s immediate detention, before an appeal, has been questioned by legal experts. While arrest pending appeal is not necessarily unusual in Russian legal practice, it is in direct contradiction to a ruling delivered in another case brought against Alexei Navalny last year, the so-called “Kirovles affair”.
Then, following widespread protests, judges ruled that the detention was unlawful, and unexpectedly released Mr Navalny on bail. According to Pavel Chikov, a lawyer, such behaviour showed that “the authorities are playing with the law to fit which ever outcome they want”. Mr Chikov said he believed the decision had been taken at the highest level. Alexei Navalny responded to the verdict emotionally, shouting at the judge: “Are you not ashamed of yourself? Why are you sending [Oleg] to prison? To punish me more?”
Maria Lipman, a visiting fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations, believes the Kremlin’s unexpected move has given Alexei Navalny a moral dilemma. “The decision effectively takes Oleg Navalny hostage and gives the Kremlin leverage over Alexei’s political activity – now he has to measure all his actions against his brother’s fate.”
The Kremlin also seems to be sending another message, to protesters, she added. “They are saying: ‘Your actions are pointless, worthless; you are at our mercy’.”
At the hastily rearranged, unsanctioned rally, several dozen people were arrested. Witnesses also reported the appearance of Cossack fighters and other organised anti-Navalny protesters, apparently distinguishing themselves with the orange and black St George’s ribbons synonymous with the pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine. After about two hours, police moved in to disperse the protesters.
Supporters and opponents of Alexei Navalny clash in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow (AP) The prospect of three-and-a-half years in a penal colony that potentially awaits Oleg Navalny is not one to be taken lightly. Russian prisons are notorious for poor levels of sanitation and frequent physical violence. Medical attention is often lacking or severely delayed, sometimes deliberately.
The Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in jail before he was pardoned last year, dismissed the verdict as Mr Putin’s revenge for Mr Navalny’s activism. He said in a statement that he was “not even surprised that Putin and his entourage are capable of vile tricks, deception, forgery and manipulation – they are not capable of anything else”.
Ms Lipman believes the unusual sentences show how anxious the Kremlin has become in dealing with Alexei Navalny. “They [are] still not ready to lock up Navalny and the message is still not one of outright repression,” she said. The strategy is, she added, is one of demoralisation and intimation. “The authorities want to make people consider and reconsider – to ask whether they really want to go out to defend someone’s younger brother.”