Russian Court Upholds 9-Year Sentence for Navalny

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A second instance court of cassation in Russia ruled on Tuesday that the nine-year sentence issued to opposition figure Alexey Navalny for fraud and contempt of court in March was lawful.

"The sentence issued by the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow and the appellate ruling of the Moscow City Court are left without changes," the judicial panel said concluding the hearing.

The judicial panel initially said that it had Navalny's request not to participate in the hearing, which his lawyers denied, insisting that he would want to attend. Despite clearing up that Navalny in fact had submitted a non-participation request six weeks prior in belief that the hearing would concern a different matter, he was allowed to join in via video link from prison.

Lawyers built Navalny's defense on the premise that his guilt had not been duly proven, while the sentence itself lacked legal rationale and contained inaccurate wordings. They demanded an annulment to the sentence.

The prosecution said that there were no grounds for the annulment or change to the sentence as Navalny's rights, including his right to defense, were not violated. Prosecutors also cited pieces of evidence that had been properly assessed as testifying to Navalny's liability.

In January 2021, Navalny was arrested in Moscow upon his arrival from Germany, where he received medical treatment for alleged poisoning in Russia. In February, the court rescinded his suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple breaches of probation, and sentenced him to 2.5 years in prison.

In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to additional nine years in prison for fraud and contempt of court.

Navalny pleads not guilty to all charges and considers his prosecution politically motivated.