A court in the Russian city of Kirov has sentenced opposition activist Aleksei Navalny to five years in prison on embezzlement charges that he said were politically motivated. Navalny and co-defendant Pytor Ofitserov were charged with stealing and illegally selling $500,000 of lumber from the Kirovles timber company in 2009. Ofitserov was given a four-year sentence.
Navalny Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
![Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny reacts as the judge reads his sentence.](https://gdb.rferl.org/628B75BB-1CE1-48F2-9500-219429566E38_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny reacts as the judge reads his sentence.
![Judge Sergei Blinov reads the verdict during the hearing in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/86FECAA9-FD9F-4B2C-BD09-6827699F36D4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Judge Sergei Blinov reads the verdict during the hearing in Kirov.
![Pyotr Ofitserov (left), Navalny's co-defendant, embraces his wife after the announcement of the verdict in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/77D56CE2-5BA4-4298-BB7E-45AE87F12801_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Pyotr Ofitserov (left), Navalny's co-defendant, embraces his wife after the announcement of the verdict in Kirov.
![A policeman puts handcuffs on protest leader Aleksei Navalny inside the courtroom in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/AEEA3FBA-F3C0-4567-92BB-A20303D308A5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A policeman puts handcuffs on protest leader Aleksei Navalny inside the courtroom in Kirov.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/18B891E1-F750-4360-A3AF-4637863463FB_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![Yulia Navalnaya leaves the courtroom in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2250417A-9565-47E9-8206-30CD3A15D93B_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Yulia Navalnaya leaves the courtroom in Kirov.
![Aleksei Navalny passes his watch and phone to his wife as he is led away in handcuffs.](https://gdb.rferl.org/A75CC557-E55F-46F0-8C6D-FC284C9797AA_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Aleksei Navalny passes his watch and phone to his wife as he is led away in handcuffs.
![Aleksei Navalny leaves the courtroom.](https://gdb.rferl.org/7EFB5593-CE56-4CCB-908E-D8C5D7D6E7ED_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Aleksei Navalny leaves the courtroom.