[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] On the 20th (local time), the appellate court in Moscow, Russia, dismissed the appeal filed by opposition activist Aleksei Navalny, who claimed that the ruling converting his suspended sentence into a prison term was unjust.
According to TASS and other sources, the Moscow City Court stated at the appellate trial held that day that the legitimacy of the first-instance ruling canceling Navalny's suspended sentence and converting it into a prison term is recognized, and thus the ruling will be upheld as is.
However, the court took into account that Navalny was under house arrest from December 30, 2014, to February 18, 2015, during the judicial proceedings related to the 2014 fraud case that was the subject of the appeal, and ordered that this period be deducted from his prison term.
Navalny was prosecuted on charges including illegally obtaining 31 million rubles (approximately 590 million KRW) from the Russian branch of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher in December 2014, and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison with a 5-year suspended sentence.
The Simonovsky District Court of Moscow earlier ruled on the 2nd to cancel Navalny's suspended sentence related to this fraud case and convert it into a prison term.
Navalny and his legal team appealed the first-instance ruling, and the appellate trial was held on this day.
If the period under house arrest is deducted from the prison term, Navalny will serve about 2 years and 6 months.
Earlier, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanded his immediate release on the 17th, citing threats to Navalny's life.
Navalny's legal team stated that they cannot accept the second-instance ruling either and plan to appeal to a higher court.
Meanwhile, on the same day at the same court, the fourth sentencing hearing was held regarding Navalny's defamation charges against a World War II veteran that occurred last year. Navalny was found guilty in this trial as well and was fined 850,000 rubles (approximately 13 million KRW).
Navalny was criminally charged last June for defaming a World War II veteran who had distinguished himself in service.
At that time, he posted a video of Ignat Artemenko (93), a reserve colonel and World War II veteran who supported the constitutional amendment allowing President Vladimir Putin's long-term rule, on his social media accounts. Along with the video, he posted comments criticizing Artemenko, who supported the amendment, calling him a "bought servant," "conscienceless person," and "traitor."
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