MOSCOW: A Russian court has sentenced opposition leader Aleksey Navalny to five years in jail on embezzlement charges, Navalny has denied the charges‚ saying the trial was politically motivated.
Navalny, 37, was immediately remanded into custody after the verdict was read out, along with his accomplice Ofitserov, who got four years in prison.
The court ruled that Aleksey Navalny and Ofitserov, caused 16 million rubles ($500,000) in damages to the state-owned Kirovles timber company where Navalny worked as a volunteer in 2009.
Navalny’s lawyers say they are going to appeal the verdict, which they must do within the next 10 days.
