The verdict came despite the fact that the European Court of Human Rights, of which Russia is also a party, ordered the Kremlin to release Navalny due to a threat to his life.
File image of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Reuters
A Moscow court on Saturday rejected Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s appeal against his prison sentence, even as the country faced an order from a high European court of rights to release the Kremlin’s most prominent enemy.
Speaking before the verdict, Navalny urged the Russians to confront the Kremlin in a fierce speech that mixes references to the Bible and “Harry Potter.”
A trial court sentenced Navalny earlier this month to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his probation while recovering in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning that he attributes to the Kremlin. The Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.
Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption crusader and most vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, appealed the prison sentence and asked to be released. On Saturday, the Moscow City Court judge slightly reduced his sentence to just over two and a half years in prison and ruled that a month and a half that Navalny spent under house arrest in early 2015 will be deducted from his sentence.
The activist’s arrest and incarceration have fueled a large wave of protests in Russia. The authorities responded with heavy repression, arresting some 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or sentenced to prison terms of between seven and 15 days.
Speaking before the verdict, Navalny referenced the Bible, as well as “Harry Potter” and the animated comedy “Rick and Morty” while urging the Russians to resist pressure from the authorities and challenge the Kremlin to build a fairer country. and prosperous.
“The government’s job is to scare you and then persuade you that you are alone,” he said. “Our Voldemort in his palace also wants me to feel isolated,” he added, referring to Putin.
“Living is risking everything,” he continued. “Otherwise, you are just an inert hunk of randomly assembled molecules that drift wherever the universe takes you.”
Navalny also addressed the judge and the prosecutor, arguing that they could have a much better life in a new Russia.
“Imagine how wonderful life would be without constant lies,” he said. “Imagine how wonderful it would be to work as a judge when no one could call you and give you instructions on what verdicts to render.”
He insisted that he was unable to report to authorities in accordance with his parole requirements while he was convalescing in Germany after his poisoning, and emphasized that he returned to Russia immediately after his health permitted.
“I was not hiding,” he said. “The whole world knew where he was.”
Navalny said he was an atheist before but has come to believe in God, adding that his faith helped him face his challenges. He said he believed the Bible saying that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, and he has no regrets about going home.
“Although our country is built on injustice and we all face it, we also see that millions of people want justice,” Navalny told the court. “They want justice and sooner or later they will have it.”
Russia has dismissed Western criticism of Navalny’s arrest and crackdown on demonstrations as meddling in its internal affairs.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Russian government to release Navalny, citing “the nature and extent of the risk to the applicant’s life.” The Strasbourg-based court noted that Navalny has challenged the Russian authorities’ argument that they had taken sufficient measures to safeguard his life and well-being in custody after the nerve agent attack.
The Russian government has rejected the Strasbourg-based court’s claim, describing the ruling as illegal and “inadmissible” an interference in Russian affairs.
In the past, Moscow has complied with ECHR judgments awarding compensation to Russian citizens who have challenged verdicts in Russian courts, but never faced a European court lawsuit to release a convict.
In a sign of its annoyance at the verdicts of the Strasbourg court, Russia last year adopted a constitutional amendment declaring the priority of national legislation over international law. The Russian authorities could now use that provision to reject the ECHR’s decision.
Later Saturday, Navalny will also face proceedings in a separate case on charges of defaming a World War II veteran. Navalny, who called the 94-year-old veteran and others featured in a pro-Kremlin video “corrupt puppets,” “people without conscience,” and “traitors,” has rejected the defamation charges, describing them as part of official efforts to look down on him.
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