Russia’s attorney general announced today (Tuesday) that he would demand the imposition of a new 13-year prison sentence on incarcerated opposition leader Alexei Navalny, claiming the latter had used for personal use several million dollars of donations made to his political organizations. This, when the latter was imprisoned last year after surviving an attempted poisoning by the incumbent administration in Moscow.
The Attorney General ruled in his decision: “I seek to sentence Nablani to 13 years ‘imprisonment, and two years’ probation. In addition, he must pay a fine of 1.2 million rubles” ($ 10,600).
The trial opened a month ago, and according to the prosecution there were four different cases in which Navalny fraudulently spent more than 356 million rubles for personal use, out of more than 588 million rubles collected as donations for his anti-corruption fund. According to Nabalani’s associates, two of the alleged cases were “straw donors” and two more were real people who were pressured to testify against the opposition leader.
Navalny is known as the biggest opponent in Russian politics of incumbent President Putin, and in a trial held for him last year he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of his release, even though he was hospitalized for attempted poisoning.
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