Navalny plea is rejected

A MOSCOW court has rejected Russian opposition leader

Alexei Navalny’s appeal against his prison sentence.

The Moscow City Court’s ruling came even as the country faced an order from the top European rights court to free the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.

A lower court sentenced Navalny earlier this month to two years and eight months in prison for violating the 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, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, appealed against the prison sentence and asked to be released.