Kremlin Critic Sentenced in Fraud Case

A prominent anti-government activist in Russia was given a suspended sentence of three years for charges of fraud.

The New York Times reports that Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg were each found guilty of fraud, although many observers believe the charges are politically motivated. Navalny has made a name for himself as an anti-corruption crusader and previously had a strong showing in the race for Moscow mayor.

Alexei's guilty verdict makes it impossible for him to run for office for 10 years, and this is widely thought to be the primary motivation behind his prosecution.

Navalny's sentence was suspended, but his brother was arrested and sent to prison. The decision to send his brother to jail infuriated Alexei, who did his best to join his brother in prison.

A small demonstration was held outside the court where the Navalnys were sentenced. Rather than returning to his home after the legal proceedings, Alexei chose to join the crowd and he was eventually detained. The authorities eventually elected not to arrest him for attending an unauthorized demonstration, and brought Alexei back to his home, according to the Times.

Navalny was initially supposed to be sentenced in Feb., and activists organized protests and other actions for that day. A Facebook page Navalny sympathizers set up to spread the word about the sentencing demonstrations was shut down at the request of the Kremlin.

This made the activists more popular, as the new Facebook page for the events gained even more attendees in a shorter period of time than the old one had.

It appears as if this surge in popular interest in the Navalny sentencing spooked the authorities because the date of the sentencing was moved up by essentially two months.