Aleksei A. Navalny, an opposition anti-corruption blogger and leader of street protests running for Mayor of Moscow, was tried on trumped up embezzlement charges today receiving a five year sentence and $15,000 fine. Both the EU and the United States have criticized the verdict harshly.
This case, along with recent others, have shown that in Russia, with Vladimir Putin’s “soft”-dictatorship active, that the legal system may be used to silence popular opposition leaders there.
