RUSSIA: Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny arrives to appeal against prison sentence
Record ID:
863091
RUSSIA: Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny arrives to appeal against prison sentence
- Title: RUSSIA: Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny arrives to appeal against prison sentence
- Date: 16th October 2013
- Summary: KIROV, RUSSIA (OCTOBER 16, 2013) (REUTERS) TRAIN ARRIVING AT RAILWAY STATION TWO MEN ON PLATFORM AS TRAIN PASSES BY VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN PROTEST LEADER ALEXEI NAVALNY WALKING ON RAILWAY STATION PLATFORM WITH HIS WIFE VARIOUS OF NAVALNY EXITING RAILWAY STATION, TAKING TAXI VARIOUS OF NAVALNY PUTTING LUGGAGE IN TRUNK, TAKING SEAT IN TAXI TAXI DRIVING OFF
- Embargoed: 31st October 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Russian Federation
- City:
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Crime,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABTZ4LJXO7DB4LZOV3MT8YBCU2
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny arrived in the city of Kirov early on Wednesday (October 16) to appeal against his prison sentence.
He arrived in Kirov by train with his wife and then took a taxi to the Kirov district courthouse where his appeal is to be heard.
Convicted at a trial he describes as Vladimir Putin's revenge for his political challenge, Navalny faces five years in prison if his appeal against a theft conviction is rejected.
The court hearing in the remote city of Kirov also poses a conundrum for President Putin.
Jailing Navalny would keep Putin's most prominent critic out of elections for years, curtailing any threat from a young rival with presidential ambitions who scored a strong second-place showing in a Moscow mayoral vote last month.
But it could also revive street protests by Putin's opponents and human rights activists over what they see as a clampdown on dissent since the 61-year-old president started a six-year third term in 2012.
A ruling upholding the five-year sentence would be seen by many as evidence that tough tactics will continue despite signals meant to suggest a let-up, such as Putin's promise of a prisoner amnesty later this year.
A blogger against corruption among Russia's elite, Navalny helped lead the biggest protests of Putin's 13-year rule, which were stoked by allegations of fraud in a December 2011 parliamentary election.
The protests have faded, but Navalny has emerged as the main opposition leader, making his trial the most closely watched in Russia since jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's second conviction in 2010.
Accused of stealing timber while working as an adviser to the governor of the Kirov region in 2009, Navalny - who denies wrongdoing - was convicted of large-scale theft in July and sentenced to five years in prison. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None