Alexei Navalny has faced several charges of embezzlement, which he claims are fabricated by the Russian government.
On Tuesday, Alexei Navalny was arrested for violating his house arrest. Navalny, a prominent critic of the Kremlin, was on his way to a demonstration rally in Moscow before police detained him. Also on Tuesday, a Russian court suspended Navalny’s sentence while deciding to jail his brother Oleg.
Navalny has been an active voice in protesting the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, often claiming that the Russian government has revived Soviet style politics. Navalny is a Russian lawyer, as well as a political activist, and gained public support since 2009 for his views against Putin. Three years ago he headed a large protest in Moscow and St. Petersburg in which tens of thousands of Russians voiced their disapproval of the alleged corruption in the Russian government. Police officers arrested Navalny on Tuesday when he exited the metro he was taking to the protest site.
Thousands of protesters participated in Tuesday’s demonstration in Moscow. Despite the harsh winter temperatures, numerous Russians expressed their frustration with the government. However, Russian officers quickly broke up the protest and arrested more than 100 protesters; the protesters did not secure a permit for the demonstration and were considered felons. One of the main reasons of protest was the unjust sentence that a Russian court gave Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg Navalny. Unlike his brother, Oleg was never involved in the political field and did not voice opinions against Putin and the Russian government.
The brothers were accused of the embezzlement of roughly 30 million Rubles ($540,000); they were charged with stealing from a French cosmetic corporation called Yves Rocher. The court decided, however, to give a suspended sentence of three and a half years to Alexei, whom prosecutors wanted to give a 10-year sentence; Oleg was imprisoned. Alexei Navalny is already serving a five-year house arrest sentence for a different charge of embezzlement. Though there is an apparent lack of evidence for the convictions of the brothers, the courts have done little to investigate the accusations.
Alexei Navalny expressed his frustration with the court’s decision, claiming that the Russian government is utilizing the legal system to suppress opposition, a Soviet tactic.
“Aren't you ashamed of what you are doing?” he asked judge Yelena Korobchenko after the sentencing of Oleg Navalny. “Why are you putting him (my brother Oleg) in prison? To punish me even harder?” Navalny said.
Putin’s policies have been widely unpopular, and his methods of reacting to opposition have been disagreeable to many. Stricter laws have been placed on media in Russia, and journalists complain about the restrictions to the freedom of speech and press. The protesters on Tuesday also cried phrases like “Crimea is not ours” and “No Putin, no war” in reference to the relations with Ukraine.
