KIROV, July 5 (RAPSI) – State prosecutor Sergei Bogdanov has asked the Leninsky District Court in Kirov to sentence opposition activist Alexei Navalny to six years in prison and a 1 million ruble fine for embezzling from the Kirovles company, RAPSI reported from the courtroom on Friday.

Navalny and Ofitserov should both go to a general prison and pay a 1 million ruble ($30,160) fine each. “This would be fair and proportionate,” Bogdanov said.
The prosecution is asking for a five-year sentence for Ofitserov.

According to the investigators, Navalny organized the theft of over 10,000 cubic meters of timber while serving as a voluntary adviser to the Kirov Region governor.

The timber was allegedly stolen from Kirovles between May and September 2009 in collusion with Pyotr Ofitserov, director of the Vyatka Timber Company, and Kirovles CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov. The regional budget shortfall resulting from the transaction has been estimated at 16 million rubles ($510,906).

If convicted, Navalny faces up to 10 years in prison. He will also be ineligible for any kind of civil service, even if he only receives probation. Opalyov, who made an agreement with the prosecution, has received a four-year suspended sentence.