by Nina Achmatova

Accused of fraud and embezzlement in Kirov, the prosecutor requests six years imprisonment. Guilty verdict pronounced this morning, sentencing yet to come: if it is 6 years, as requested by the prosecutor, it will derail his running in municipal elections in Moscow, on September 8.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Election Commission of Moscow has officially approved the candidacy for mayor of Alexei Navalny, the anti-Putin blogger who has become a moral leader of the Russian opposition movement. His political career, however, may have ended even before it really began: the Kirov court, 800 km from Moscow, the has found him guilty of fraud and embezzlement and the prosecutor has asked six years of detention and payment fine of one million rubles.

Sentencing is scheduled for later today. If convicted, which seems increasingly likely, he will be forbidden by law to run in the election and could be banned from public office forever. After three months of hearings, the judge Serghei Blinov - known for never having delivered a not guilty verdict in his entire career - decided that Navlany was guilty of selling large consignments of timber below cost to the detriment of State Company Kirovles for 380 thousand euro, while he was advisor to the local governor in 2009.

The defense demanded his acquittal and the blogger himself alleged that these accusations have been falsified to take him out of the running for mayor and "get back at him politically." He belives that the verdict was "dictated by Putin himself," and the only question will be whether he goes to prison or on probation.  The real test for the broad extra-parliamentary opposition movement now lies in whether the blogger, who led the anti-government protests last year in Moscow, will be able to participate in the municipal scheduled for September 8.

According to amendments to Russian law, which came into force last year, those convicted of criminal "serious" or "very serious" offenses (as are his) can not run for elections. It is unclear, however, whether the "disqualification" will be immediately effective or only after the exhaustion of all possible appeals. Which could take a few months. After the ruling, Navalny has 10 days to appeal. Then the court still has another 30 days to begin to consider the appeal. If the judges reject the appeal before September 8, the opponent will have to withdraw his candidacy. "We do not know what will happen - Navalny himself admitted - the court may decide at a later date or take more time."

The September elections were called early by the current mayor and faithful of President Vladimir Putin, Sergey Sobyanin. The goal is to achieve a legitimate electoral mandate before the opposition can reorganize for the poll in two years, the end of his term of offcie. Sobyanin was appointed in 2011 after the dismissal of his predecessor,Yuri Luzhkov. The Russian elite want not only to win the lections but also to emerge with a clean slate and this is why Navalny's participatin would seem key.

Meanwhile, pending the judgment, in Moscow streets were closed around Manege Square, where a demonstration in support of blogger has been called for the afternoon of July 18.  Through social networks thousands have said they will participate.

 

• russia
• blogger
• government
• opporition
• moscow
• mayro
• trial
• guilty
• putin