Navalny Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Penal Colony as Anti-Putin Protests Escalate – By Paul D. Shinkman (US News) / Feb 2 2021
The Kremlin acknowledged the explosive consequences of imprisoning the leading Russian dissident in a statement hours before the court ruling.
A RUSSIAN COURT ON Tuesday sentenced leading political dissident Alexei Navalny to 3 1/2 years in a federal penal colony, setting Russian President Vladimir Putin on a collision course with a growing protest movement furious with his tightening grip on power and his crackdown on dissent.
The court ruled Tuesday night local time that Navalny will remain imprisoned for at least two years and eight months after crediting him with 10 months he had already served under house arrest as the result of a prior trial. Navalny was charged with embezzlement and missing check-ins with Russia’s prison service while he was in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack with military-grade nerve agent that he and his supporters attribute directly to Putin’s orders. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the accusations. Navalny had been in a medically induced coma for weeks following the attack in August.
World leaders quickly denounced Tuesday’s ruling. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for Navalny’s release, saying in a statement that the trial served as an attempt by the Kremlin “to violate Mr. Navalny’s rights and suppress political pluralism.” U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called it “perverse” and also demanded Navalny’s release.
