Court upholds election ban

Russia’s Supreme Court said on Saturday that it has decided to reject an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny and uphold a ban on his participation in the 2018 presidential election. In February 2017, a Russian court found Navalny guilty of embezzlement at a timber company and gave him a fiveyear suspended sentence. Last month, the Russian Central Election Commission denied Navalny the right to run for the presidency, citing his criminal conviction. Under Russian legislation, if someone is found guilty of a crime, he or she will be ineligible to