Navalny fined on charge of libeling WWII veteran

A Moscow district court on Saturday ruled to fine Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny 850,000 rubles (EUR 9,475) charge of slandering a Russian World War II veteran, reported Xinhua.

The prosecution has requested a fine of 950,000 rubles, but the court viewed the fact that Navalny has an underage child as extenuation.

The court found the activist guilty of making online comments on June 2 defaming World War II veteran Ignat Artemenko, who expressed support for amendments to the Russian constitution.

In another hearing on Saturday, the Moscow City Court upheld a lower court verdict of imprisonment for Navalny, but cut his jail term by more than one month.

With all the time of house arrest deducted, Navalny will now face about 2.5 years behind bars for a fraud case concerning French cosmetics company Yves Rocher.

The 44-year-old opposition figure has vowed to appeal both the rulings.

Navalny was detained by FSIN officers on Jan. 17 upon his landing at a Moscow airport from Germany, where he received medical treatment for alleged poisoning over the past months.

The activist fell into a coma on a flight from the Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow on Aug. 20, 2020. He was then transferred to a hospital in Berlin with suspected poisoning symptoms.

In early September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent.

Navalny's detention sparked mass protests in major Russian cities at the past two weekends as his supporters took to the streets demanding his release. Western countries have also pressured Moscow to free him.