Court rejects Navalny’s appeal against jail term

MOSCOW: A Moscow court on Saturday rejected Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s appeal against his prison sentence, even as the country faced a top European rights court’s order to free the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.

Speaking before the verdict, Navalny urged Russians to stand up to the Kremlin in a fiery speech mixing references to the Bible and “Harry Poter.”

A lower court sentenced Navalny earlier this month to two years and eight months in prison for violating terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.

Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption crusader and President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, appealed the prison sentence and asked to be released.

The Moscow City Court’s judge on Saturday only slightly reduced his sentence to just over 2 1/2 years in prison, ruling that a month-and-half Navalny spent under house arrest in early 2015 will be deducted from his sentence.

His arrest and imprisonment have fuelled a huge wave of protests across Russia. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

Speaking before the verdict, Navalny referenced the Bible as well as “Harry Poter” and the animated sitcom “Rick and Morty” as he urged Russians to resist pressure from the authorities and challenge the Kremlin to build a fairer and more prosperous country.

“The government’s task is to scare you and then persuade you that you are alone,” he said.

“Our Voldemort in his palace also wants me to feel cut off,” he added, in a reference to Putin.

“To live is to risk it all,” he continued. “Otherwise, you’re just an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows you.”