Post by Jaga on Feb 15, 2022 21:32:30 GMT -7
I wish Navalny never returned to Russia. It is so sad and irrational to see him being charged for 15 more years for embezzlement? Something like that could not happen in the US that easily just because somebody is your political enemy
www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/world/europe/alexsei-navalny-russia-court.html
Navalny Appears in Penal Camp Court to Face More Charges
Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, faces charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that could extend his time in jail by 15 years
Aleksei A. Navalny, the most prominent challenger to the rule of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, appeared at a court hearing on Tuesday to face charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that could extend his imprisonment by 15 years.
The trial is starting as Mr. Putin has grabbed the world’s attention by engaging in a high-stakes standoff with the West over Ukraine. Mr. Navalny’s supporters said they believed the trial was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the crisis to divert attention away from his case.
The proceedings were held in a prison outside Moscow, where Mr. Navalny, who has accused Mr. Putin of ordering his security agencies to assassinate him, is serving a sentence that ends next year. The Kremlin has denied Mr. Navalny’s accusations.
Standing in a makeshift courtroom in his prison uniform, a visibly thinner Mr. Navalny accused the court of deliberately holding the trial in a penal colony hours away from Moscow to reduce media attention and obstruct the work of his lawyers, who were not allowed to bring their laptops with case materials.
“I am not afraid of this court, of the penal colony, the F.S.B., of the prosecutors, chemical weapons, Putin and all others,” Mr. Navalny said in court, according to a video of his statement. “I am not afraid because I believe it is humiliating and useless to be afraid of it all.”
Russian investigators have accused Mr. Navalny and his associates of creating his anti-corruption foundation for the purpose of embezzling people’s donations, court documents said. Investigators said that Mr. Navalny had published inquiries of “alleged corruption among government officials at various levels” to attract these donations. They said Mr. Navalny attempted to take part in the 2018 presidential election for that purpose. (Mr. Navalny was barred by Russian election officials from running for president.)
In particular, the investigators accused Mr. Navalny of stealing $35,000 from four people, who had testified against him. In a video published ahead of the trial, Mr. Navalny’s ally Ivan Zhdanov accused two of the four victims mentioned in the case of cooperating with the Russian government to “slander an innocent person in exchange for money.”
www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/world/europe/alexsei-navalny-russia-court.html
Navalny Appears in Penal Camp Court to Face More Charges
Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, faces charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that could extend his time in jail by 15 years
Aleksei A. Navalny, the most prominent challenger to the rule of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, appeared at a court hearing on Tuesday to face charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that could extend his imprisonment by 15 years.
The trial is starting as Mr. Putin has grabbed the world’s attention by engaging in a high-stakes standoff with the West over Ukraine. Mr. Navalny’s supporters said they believed the trial was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the crisis to divert attention away from his case.
The proceedings were held in a prison outside Moscow, where Mr. Navalny, who has accused Mr. Putin of ordering his security agencies to assassinate him, is serving a sentence that ends next year. The Kremlin has denied Mr. Navalny’s accusations.
Standing in a makeshift courtroom in his prison uniform, a visibly thinner Mr. Navalny accused the court of deliberately holding the trial in a penal colony hours away from Moscow to reduce media attention and obstruct the work of his lawyers, who were not allowed to bring their laptops with case materials.
“I am not afraid of this court, of the penal colony, the F.S.B., of the prosecutors, chemical weapons, Putin and all others,” Mr. Navalny said in court, according to a video of his statement. “I am not afraid because I believe it is humiliating and useless to be afraid of it all.”
Russian investigators have accused Mr. Navalny and his associates of creating his anti-corruption foundation for the purpose of embezzling people’s donations, court documents said. Investigators said that Mr. Navalny had published inquiries of “alleged corruption among government officials at various levels” to attract these donations. They said Mr. Navalny attempted to take part in the 2018 presidential election for that purpose. (Mr. Navalny was barred by Russian election officials from running for president.)
In particular, the investigators accused Mr. Navalny of stealing $35,000 from four people, who had testified against him. In a video published ahead of the trial, Mr. Navalny’s ally Ivan Zhdanov accused two of the four victims mentioned in the case of cooperating with the Russian government to “slander an innocent person in exchange for money.”