Moscow courts deliver Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a double hit

A Moscow judge has upheld a ruling to jail the top Kremlin critic, as he lost two court cases in one day.

Alexei Navalny in court on Saturday. Picture: AFP

A Moscow judge has upheld a ruling to jail top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, as he lost two court cases in one day and was headed for more than two years in a penal colony.

Another court later on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) convicted President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent on defamation charges — part of a slew of cases he has faced since returning from Germany last month after a poison attack he blames on the Kremlin.

In the first hearing, judge Dmitry Balashov dismissed Mr Navalny’s appeal of a decision to imprison him for violating the terms of a suspended sentence on embezzlement charges he says were politically motivated. The 44-year-old was ordered on February 2 to serve two years and eight months in a penal colony for breaching his parole terms while he was recovering in Germany.

The anti-corruption campaigner appeared in court inside a glass cage, wearing a plaid shirt, smiling and flashing the V for victory symbol.

In a closing address that broke from his usual sarcastic tone, Mr Navalny referenced the Bible and said he had no doubts about his decision to return to Russia.

“The Bible says: ‘Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness, for they will be satisfied’,” he told the court. “I have no regrets that I am back.”

He also quoted from a character in the Harry Potter books, saying it was “important not to feel alone” because that was what the series’ villain Voldemort wanted.

He described the legal process to jail him “absurd” and called on Russians to take action to make the country a better place.

The judge decided to count six weeks Mr Navalny was under house arrest as part of the time served, so he will now be imprisoned for just over 2 ½ years.

Navalny lawyers Olga Mikhailova said he was not expected to be sent off to a penal colony before his defence team received a copy of the verdict.

Hours later another judge convicted Mr Navalny of defamation for calling a World War II veteran a “traitor” for appearing in a pro-Kremlin video. Judge Vera Akimova ordered him to pay a fine of 850,000 roubles ($14,600).

The 94-year-old veteran appeared in a video that Mr Navalny derided for promoting constitutional reforms, passed last year, that allow Mr Putin to stay in power until 2036.

Mr Navalny accused Russian authorities of using the veteran as a “puppet” to try to discredit him.

“One day of this trial costs much more than the veteran got in the last four years from the very state that dares to claim it cares about veterans,” he said.

Supporters of the opposition politician say the cases are a pretext to silence his corruption exposes and quash his political ambitions. Russia has come under Western pressure to release Mr Navalny since he was detained on arrival at a Moscow airport in January.

He had spent months recovering in Germany from the attack with Novichok that saw him fall ill on a Siberian flight in August. Russia has denied involvement.

His arrest sparked large demonstrations across the country while the EU threatened to impose new sanctions on Moscow.

More than 10,000 people were detained at the protests, and Mr Navalny’s team has called a break in demonstrations.

AFP