Prosecutors have asked for Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny to be freed pending appeal, hours after he was jailed for embezzlement.
The unexpected move came as thousands took to the streets in protest following the conviction on Thursday.
Navalny - a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin - had denied the charges, saying the trial was politically motivated.
He has recently registered his candidacy for Moscow mayoral elections, reports the BBC.
The head of his campaign staff, Leonid Volkov, said Navalny had told him he would withdraw from the race if he was jailed. However, it was not clear what might happen if he was freed pending an appeal.
Navalny was led from the court in Kirov in handcuffs after being found guilty of embezzlement from a timber firm and jailed for five years.
Scuffles broke out as thousands of people took to the streets in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities in protests that continued late into the evening. Reports said dozens were detained by police.
The verdict drew widespread international criticism and Navalny's lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, said he would appeal.
Then, in an unexpected twist, prosecutors lodged a complaint against the ruling under which Navalny was taken into custody.
They said he should remain free, with travel restrictions, pending his appeal. A hearing on the issue was set for Friday.
Analysts say the move could be an attempt by officials to soothe public anger over the case.
Navalny, 37, is a leading campaigner against President Putin's United Russia party and has regularly blogged about corruption allegations.
He came to public attention when he inspired mass protests against the Kremlin and President Putin in December 2011.
Before he was led away to jail, Navalny urged his supporters to continue his anti-corruption struggle, tweeting: "Don't sit around doing nothing."
Navalny was found guilty of heading a group that embezzled timber worth 16m roubles ($500,000; £330,000) from the Kirovles state timber company while working as an adviser to Kirov's governor Nikita Belykh.
The prosecution had asked for a six-year jail sentence, but judge Sergei Blinov decided on five years, and said there were no extenuating circumstances that would warrant keeping Navalny out of prison.
Navalny's co-accused, Pyotr Ofitserov, was also found guilty, and given a four-year jail sentence.
The EU said the verdict posed "serious questions" about the rule of law in Russia, while the US said it was "deeply disappointed".
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the trial had "raised doubts about whether criminal justice was the main motive".
The Kremlin denies that Putin uses courts for political ends, and the judge rejected Navalny's claim that the trial was politically motivated.
Source: BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment