MOSCOW, December 15 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) – Russia’s Supreme Court has refused to review the sentence of opposition leader Alexei Navalny for the embezzlement of funds from Kirovles Company, the court told RAPSI on Monday.
The court thus dismissed a cassation appeal filed by Navalny’s attorney Olga Mikhaylova seeking reversal of the verdict.
In July 2013, the Leninsky District Court of Kirov sentenced Navalny to a suspended term of five years for embezzlement in the Kirovles timber company, with a five-year probation period.
In July 2014, the judge extended the probation by three months as requested by the Federal Penitentiary Service. The agency explained that the request was based on the fact that Navalny had been repeatedly charged with administrative and criminal liability.
Alexei Navalny is a Russian political and public figure, leader of the Party of Progress. He ran for Moscow mayor and is the author of one of the most popular political blogs that was banned for promoting unauthorized public protests.
Navalny has remained under house arrest since March 28. He is prohibited from using the Internet after restrictions were imposed on him in the Yves Rocher embezzlement case.
Navalny and his brother Oleg stand accused in a fraud case involving cosmetics company Yves Rocher Vostok. Investigators allege that the Navalny brothers embezzled up to 26 million rubles ($457,000) from the cosmetics company, as well as close to 4 million rubles ($70,300) from the Multidisciplinary Processing Company by way of a fraud scheme. The brothers were further charged with having laundered 21 million rubles (about $370,000).