Kremlin critic Navalny to run in Moscow mayoral poll
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny returns to Moscow from Kirov where he was convicted of embezzlement but set free until the appeal.
Upon arrival in the Russian capital, he told his supporters and journalists that he would fight the Moscow mayoral vote in September. "We will fight and win," Mr Navalny is quoted as saying by the Russian official news agency RIA Novosti.
He thanked his supporters and stressed he would not have been freed, pending the appeal, without their support. Euroradio reminds that on July 18 Alexei Navalny and former Kirovles CEO Piot Ofitserov were sentenced to five years in prison and arrested in the courtroom. The trial and arrest triggered a huge wave of protests by Russian opposition activists. In Moscow and several other major Russian cities, rallies of solidarity with Alexei Navalny took place.
On July 19, a prosecutor's office appealed Navalny's and Ofitserov's arrest. They were released under recognizance, pending the appeal.
Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg are also facing embezzlement charges in connection with Yves Rochers East and Inter-regional Processing Company. According to investigators, around $1.8 million were allegedly stolen from Yves Rochers and around $127,000 from Inter-Regional Processing Company. Investigators insist the brothers spent this money on their persoanll needs via laundering.
Human rights defenders describe Mr Navalny's prosecution as politically motivated.
Photo: zyalt.livejournal.com
