A stauch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin Party, Alexei Navalny quoted his ‘favourite TV series’ after he was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison on Tuesday.
Navalny was already serving a 2.5 year sentence in a penal colony east of Moscow. He was accused of embezzling money and contempt of court. A judge ruled that the 45-year-old would have to pay a fine of 1.2 million rubles (about $11,500). However, he can appeal the ruling.
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The prosecutors said that Navalny and his foundation raised over the years and insulted a judge during a previous trial.
Reacting to the sentence, the Kremlin critic quoted David Simon’s American drama series ‘The Wire’.
“9 years. Well, as the characters of my favorite TV series “The Wire” used to say: ‘You only do two days. That’s the day you go in and the day you come out’,” he tweeted.
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Navalny further added that he even ‘had a T-shirt with this slogan, but the prison authorities confiscated it, considering the print extremist’.
The leader of Russia of the Future party, Navalny rejected the allegations, claiming they are politically motivated. The prosecution had asked for 13 years in a maximum security prison for the anti-corruption crusader and a 1.2 million-ruble fine.
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The trial, which opened about a month ago, unfolded in a makeshift courtroom in the prison colony hours away from Moscow where Navalny is serving a sentence for parole violations. Navalny’s supporters have criticized the authorities’ decision to move the proceedings there from a courthouse in Moscow, saying it has effectively limited access to the proceedings for the media and supporters.
Several criminal cases have been launched against Navalny individually, leading his associates to suggest the Kremlin intends to keep him behind bars for as long as possible.
