Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is back in court -- facing a criminal libel case he says is political
Source: Washington Post
By Robyn Dixon
Feb. 5, 2021
MOSCOW — Russian anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny on Friday slammed the latest court action against him as one more trumped-up political case by the government of President Vladimir Putin.
The case — involving charges of criminal libel against an elderly war veteran — was a “PR trial” used to smear him, Navalny said. He was appearing in court for the second time this week after being sentenced Tuesday to two years and eight months for breaching parole.
“This is a PR trial,” said Navalny, according to local media present in the hearing. The Kremlin needs headlines, ‘Navalny slandered a war veteran.’”
Navalny, whose return to Russia and jailing triggered the toughest crackdown on peaceful opposition dissent since Soviet times, also faces a separate case in which he is accused of embezzlement, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russian-opposition-leader-navalny-back-in-court--this-time-facing-a-criminal-libel-case-that-he-says-is-political/2021/02/05/acc0d8d0-6703-11eb-bab8-707f8769d785_story.html
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