Putin Opposition Leader Facing 10-Year Prison Term
Published at
Sean Gallup/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — The day after President Vladimir Putin insisted Russia was not repressing his political opponents, Putin’s biggest critic is facing a lengthy prison term. Russian prosecutors announced Friday they are seeking a 10-year prison term for opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Navalny and his brother are on trial for what he says are trumped up corruption charges aimed at silencing Putin’s opponents.
On Thursday, Putin denied there is any campaign in Russia to repress political opposition.
Navalny was the ringleader of the massive protests against Putin back in the winter of 2011. After Putin returned to the Kremlin that spring, he started to crack down on his opponents, and Navalny soon found himself in court for another charge. Navally was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, but the sentence was quickly commuted.
Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow where he won a surprising 27 percent of the vote. For the past year, however, he’s been under house arrest for this case.
In court on Friday, Navalny was defiant, saying lies are the essence of today’s Russian government.
Sentencing for Navalny is scheduled for Jan. 15.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio