Russian prosecutors seek three-and-a-half-year jail term for Alexei Navalny

Russian state prosecutors are poised to jail Kremlin-critic Alexei Navalny for three-and-a-half years, according to The Guardian. Navalny was jailed after he returned from Germany on January 17 and last week, a Moscow court had rejected his appeal to be released. World leaders, including the US, had condemned Moscow’s heavy-handed tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists. Now, Kremlin has shrugged off the complaints about Navalny’s case and said that Moscow would ignore statements from US President Joe Biden administration, following Sunday’s mass pro-Navalny protests.

It is worth mentioning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called for Navalny to be set free. He had said that the US is “deeply disturbed” by the violent crackdown against people exercising their rights to protests peacefully against their government. He added that frustration with official corruption and growing autocracy had driven popular protests. Further, Blinken urged Kremlin officials to “look inward, not outward” and said that Navalny is giving expression to the voices of millions and millions of Russians. 

While the White House was reviewing whether to impose further sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, warned against fresh sanctions. Peskov said that Russia is not prepared to accept or heed the American statement about this. He went on the describe the pro-Navalny protests as illegal and added that there can be no conversation with hooligans and provocateurs. 

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Court hearing on Feb 2

On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators had gathered in Moscow demanding the release of Navalny. The protest was organised despite a warning from Russian authorities prior to the demonstration. The police detained nearly 5,000 protesters on Sunday alone and demonstrators were seen marching on the streets and chanting, ‘“Putin, thief!”. Despite threats of jail terms, warnings to social media groups and tight police cordons, Navalny’s team has yet again called for another protest in Moscow for February 2, when the Kremlin-critic is set to face a court hearing that could send him to prison for years. The hearing on Tuesday could turn his 3 1/2-year suspended sentence into one he must serve in prison.

(Image: AP)

READ: Over 5,000 Russians Arrested Over Demonstrations Demanding Navalny's Release

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