Yulia, wife of Navalni, the Russian opposition leader, leaves the Moscow court on the 2nd. [로이터=연합뉴스]
– Alexey Navalni, a political opponent and opposition activist of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. After being terrorized by poison, he recovered and returned to his country after his lifetime, and he was immediately arrested by Russian authorities. The United States and Europe immediately criticized it as “forsaking the rule of law and human rights.”
Navalni “Putin, to be recorded as poisoner”
Western countries also accused of “forsaking the rule of law”
– The Moscow Sinonovsky court ruled on the 2nd (local time) to convert the probation against Navalni to jail. Navalni was sentenced to three years and six months, but he must serve two years and eight months, excluding the period he spent under house arrest.
On this day, a Russian court ruled that Navalni had not fulfilled the obligations arising from the previously sentenced probation. In 2014, Navalni was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison and 5 years probation on charges of receiving money and other goods from the Russian branch of a French cosmetics company. The probation, which was originally scheduled to end in December 2019, was postponed until the end of last year.
The Russian correctional authorities filed a lawsuit against the court for canceling the probation and converting it to imprisonment, claiming that Navalni had not fulfilled the terms of the probation obligation, including the appearance of an investigative agency. Navalni’s lawyer refuted, saying, “Since August of last year, Navalni was addicted to poison and received treatment in Germany, and he continued rehabilitation after discharge.”
After the ruling, Navalni said, “The purpose of this judicial process is to scare millions of people,” and to his supporters, “We cannot imprison everyone. Don’t be afraid.” To his wife Julia, he made a heart shape with both hands and said, “It will all go well.” According to the Associated Press, protests demanding the release of Navalni in Moscow and St. Petersburg that day continued until dawn the next day. OVD-Info, which monitors the arrests of political prisoners, said about 1,000 protesters were arrested across Russia. Earlier, on the 23rd and 31st of last month, more than 9,000 protesters were arrested.
The US State Department issued a statement in the name of Secretary Tony Blincoln, saying, “The United States is deeply concerned about the decision of the Russian authorities to imprison Navalni.” “In recent weeks, hundreds of Russian citizens and Navalni were unconditionally detained and immediately I ask again to be released.” Secretary Blincoln said, “We will work closely with our allies and partners to hold Russia accountable for not defending the rights of its own citizens.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said, “This ruling against Navalni is unacceptable.” “Human rights and freedoms are not subject to compromise. We demand immediate release.” Prime Minister Angela Merkel also urged, in a statement released on Twitter as a spokesman, “the ruling against Navalni is far from any kind of rule of law” and “immediately stop violence against peaceful protesters.”
A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “There is no need to intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign states. We hope to cope with internal problems in our country.”
Reporter Seok Kyung-min [email protected]
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