KIROV, Russia - Alexei Navalny, a lawyer who became Russia’s most resonant opposition voice by crusading against rampant public corruption, was found guilty Thursday of stealing money from a state-controlled timber company.
He was sentenced to five years in prison - a punishment that immediately transformed Navalny, 37, who recently declared his candidacy for mayor of Moscow, from an opposition activist to a political dissident and prisoner. Navalny - who became an irritant to President Vladimir Putin by branding his United Russia political machine as the “party of swindlers and thieves” - used the Internet and social media as his main weapon against the state.
Navalny’s co-defendant, Pyotr Ofitserov, a businessman and acquaintance who worked with him on the timber project, was sentenced to four years in prison. The two men, who had been accused of embezzling nearly $500,000, also were each fined more than $15,000.
Much of the judge’s findings was based on the testimony of a third man accused in the scheme, Vyacheslav Opalev, who pleaded guilty and worked with the prosecution. In his decision, Judge Sergei Blinov called his testimony trustworthy and reliable. But during the trial, Opalev at times gave contradictory evidence, and defense lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine him. In addition, Blinov barred the defense from calling 13 witnesses.
Alexei Kudrin, a close associate of Putin and former finance minister, described it on Twitter as “looking less like a punishment than an attempt to isolate him from social life and the electoral process.”
The verdict quickly sparked calls for boycotts of the Moscow mayoral election and future national ballots.
The crime novelist Boris Akunin, who is also a political opposition leader, said the verdict showed there was little hope to change Russia by democratic means.
“Lifetime deprivation of elections - this is what the verdict means not only for Navalny but for all who thought it was possible to change this system through elections,” Akunin wrote. “As long as the Putin regime is alive, there will not be elections. The answer to the question ‘to be, or not to be’ that is to boycott or not boycott, has been answered. For other elections as well.”
Sergei Parkhomenko, a prominent Moscow radio host, said he had been skeptical that Navalny would be sent to jail because his imprisonment would undermine Russia’s electoral process.
“That’s in the past, it’s finished,” Parkhomenko wrote on Facebook. “There will be no more elections without Navalny. There will not be a legitimate mayor of Moscow without Navalny. There will not be a legitimate mayor without Navalny among the live, real competitors.”
Navalny spent much of the court session posting commentary online, including a pointed assertion that all of the evidence against him had been fabricated.
As Blinov pronounced the sentence, Navalny posted to his supporters on Twitter: “Ok. Don’t miss me. And most importantly - do not be lazy.” Referring to the Russian government, he added, “The toad will not remove itself from the oil pipeline.”
As the five-year sentence was delivered, and the judge said it could not be suspended but required actual jail time, some of Navalny’s supporters burst into tears. He was led away in handcuffs.
Outside the court, Yulia Navalny said her husband’s work would not be halted and that he had been warned of a serious sentence by Sergei Guriev, a prominent Russian economist and supporter of Alexei Navalny who recently fled to France fearing for his own freedom.
“Alexei was as ready for this as one can be,” Yulia Navalny said. “If anyone believes that Alexei’s investigations will cease, that is not the case. The Fund for the Fight Against Corruption will continue working as before.”
In Moscow, even before the sentence was announced, supporters and the police began to gather at Manezh Square near the Kremlin where backers of Alexei Navalny had planned to hold an unsanctioned rally. More than 7,000 people had responded to an announcement of the event on Facebook to say they would attend.
Unless the verdict is reversed on appeal, it will disqualify Navalny from the Moscow mayoral election, which will be held in September. The incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin, is widely favored to win.
In the hours ahead of the verdict, Navalny railed against the government. “The current power - is not a healthy big fish, but a puffer fish or a Latin American toad, which puffs itself up when it senses danger, using TV to spread lies from prostitute TV hosts,” he wrote in a blog post.
He also exhorted his supporters to continue his work even in his absence.
“You understand what is to be done, understand how it must be done, and understand for what it must be done,” he wrote. “The main thing is be brave, to cast off laziness and do it. You actually don’t need any sort of special leadership.”
“There is no one else but you,” he wrote in closing. “If you are reading this, you are the resistance.” Information for this article was contributed by Alexandra Kozlovsky, Ellen Barry, Andrew E. Kramer, Andrew Roth, Anna Tikhomirova and Noah Sneider of The New York Times.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 07/19/2013