Top ally of Navalny convicted of trespassing

A top associate of Russia’s imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted of trespassing on Thursday and handed a suspended sentence of one year community service after she tried to doorstep an alleged security operative believed to be involved in Navalny’s poisoning with a Sovietera nerve agent.

A court in Moscow found Lyubov Sobol, a politician and a key figure in Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, guilty of forcing her way into the apartment of a relative of the alleged operative whom Navalny had previously duped into revealing details of his supposed poisoning. Sobol condemned the verdict as “shame and disgrace” and vowed to appeal.

“In the meantime, a (criminal) case into the attempt upon Navalny’s life hasn’t been even opened,” she said in a tweet.