Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Russian opposition leader says facing ‘slander’ charge

-

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday he faces a new criminal charge for slander just a day after his release from two consecutive terms behind bars for organising anti-Kremlin protests.

The fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin announced on his website that he was summoned for questioning by interior ministry investigators and expected to be charged with slander.

But when he got to the station, in what Navalny called a "strange manoeuvre," the investigator told him and his lawyer that he need not come back that day and they would stay in touch.

Authorities earlier this year delayed Navalny's court hearing over illegal protests from January to August, although the court case would normally immediately follow the demonstration.

This was apparently to allow the authorities to detain him at a time of their choosing. He then found himself behind bars on the day of regional elections in September, when he had called for a protest against deeply unpopular pension reforms.

He said the latest charge relates to accusations he made in 2015 about former interior ministry investigator Pavel Karpov, a key figure in the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian jail in 2009.

Navalny wrote in 2015 that Karpov owned a flat worth almost $1 million and luxury cars including a Porsche Cayenne. He ridiculed Karpov's claim that these were gifts.

Authorities opened a slander case and searched Navalny's home in 2016, after which he said he heard nothing for two years and that the statute of limitations passed in the case.

Slander charges do not call for arrest but only large fines, Navalny said, adding that "Who knows how the elaborate and inventive legal machine in Putin's head works?"

Karpov is one of the Russians blacklisted by the US over involvement in the death of whistleblowing lawyer Magnitsky, who accused him of being behind an embezzlement scam.

Navalny was released from a Moscow detention centre on Sunday after being sentenced to 20 days for organising anti-Kremlin protests just a day after being released from a 30-day term.

The 42-year-old activist told journalists as he left the detention centre: "If anyone thinks that with arrests... they can scare or stop us, that is clearly not the case."

Navalny said his latest legal woes came as he had planned to respond to a bizarre summons to fight a duel from a top Putin ally.

Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russia's National Guard, challenged Navalny to a duel last month over allegations of corrupt practices by his agency.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday he faces a new criminal charge for slander just a day after his release from two consecutive terms behind bars for organising anti-Kremlin protests.

The fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin announced on his website that he was summoned for questioning by interior ministry investigators and expected to be charged with slander.

But when he got to the station, in what Navalny called a “strange manoeuvre,” the investigator told him and his lawyer that he need not come back that day and they would stay in touch.

Authorities earlier this year delayed Navalny’s court hearing over illegal protests from January to August, although the court case would normally immediately follow the demonstration.

This was apparently to allow the authorities to detain him at a time of their choosing. He then found himself behind bars on the day of regional elections in September, when he had called for a protest against deeply unpopular pension reforms.

He said the latest charge relates to accusations he made in 2015 about former interior ministry investigator Pavel Karpov, a key figure in the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian jail in 2009.

Navalny wrote in 2015 that Karpov owned a flat worth almost $1 million and luxury cars including a Porsche Cayenne. He ridiculed Karpov’s claim that these were gifts.

Authorities opened a slander case and searched Navalny’s home in 2016, after which he said he heard nothing for two years and that the statute of limitations passed in the case.

Slander charges do not call for arrest but only large fines, Navalny said, adding that “Who knows how the elaborate and inventive legal machine in Putin’s head works?”

Karpov is one of the Russians blacklisted by the US over involvement in the death of whistleblowing lawyer Magnitsky, who accused him of being behind an embezzlement scam.

Navalny was released from a Moscow detention centre on Sunday after being sentenced to 20 days for organising anti-Kremlin protests just a day after being released from a 30-day term.

The 42-year-old activist told journalists as he left the detention centre: “If anyone thinks that with arrests… they can scare or stop us, that is clearly not the case.”

Navalny said his latest legal woes came as he had planned to respond to a bizarre summons to fight a duel from a top Putin ally.

Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russia’s National Guard, challenged Navalny to a duel last month over allegations of corrupt practices by his agency.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026.