Navalny faces penal colony after Russian court rejects his appeal

ALEXEI NAVALNY will be shipped off to a remote penal colony in a matter of days, after authorities dismissed his prison sentence appeal, leaving Russia’s opposition movement without its undisputed leader.

The Moscow City Court yesterday sentenced Mr Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent critic, to two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation, putting an end to a fiveweek-long saga of his return to Russia, arrest and massive nationwide protests.

Now that he’s lost his appeal, prison authorities will be able to remove the opposition politician to a prison colony, potentially leaving him without any communication with his family and lawyers for weeks.

The Kremlin is likely to greet his departure from Moscow with a sigh of relief as Mr Navalny for years has been the only opposition figure able to mount massive protest rallies and urge citizens to back anti-government candidates in tactical voting.

Asked about Mr Navalny’s jailing, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said that Russia’s political landscape was not going to lose much with his incarceration.

Mr Navalny’s return to Russia in January set off the country’s biggest political crisis in a decade, with tens of thousands rallying in more than 100 cities and towns, demanding his release.

In his final argument before the verdict, Mr Navalny, dressed in a checkered shirt with rolled-up sleeves, evoked the wisdom of the Bible, Harry Potter and the Rick and Morty cartoon, saying that he felt happy that he was able to stay true to his beliefs.

Mr Navalny, who rarely speaks about being a devout Russian Orthodox believer, quoted Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount as the “guidelines” of his life: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

“Your Honour, do you know what’s the most popular slogan in Russia? It’s: ‘What is the strength? Strength is in truth.’ Yet, our country is built on injustice.” Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights issued a rare emergency ruling, urging Russia to immediately release Mr Navalny, taking into account “the nature and extent of risk to the applicant’s life”.

Russia is obliged to comply with ECHR rulings as a member of the Council of Europe, but the country’s justice minister has already refused to comply with the ruling.

A few hours after he lost his appeal, Mr Navalny faced a different trial.

This time he was found guilty of defaming a Second World War veteran. He was fined 850,000 roubles (£8,500).