The Kirov regional court in Russia on July 8 acquitted Nikita Belykh, the region's former governor and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, in a new case against him on charge of abuse of office.
Belykh was released from prison last month after serving an eight-year prison term on a bribe-taking charge that he has rejected.
Then, in December 2023, a court in the Kirov region sentenced Belykh to an additional 2 1/2 years in prison on a charge of abuse of power but spared him from serving the punishment, citing the statute of limitations.
Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an additional term for Belykh on two charges of abuse of power, but the judge acquitted Belykh of the more serious of the two charges due to a lack of evidence, handing him only a 2 1/2-year sentence on the lesser of the two charges. Statute-of-limitations deadlines also mean he won't serve prison time on that charge.
On July 8, the Kirov regional court cancelled the lower court's December decision, fully acquitting Belykh due to "the absence of any elements of a crime" in the case.
One of the highest-ranking officials to be arrested in office since Putin was first elected president in 2000, Belykh maintained his innocence in both cases against him, saying he was the victim of a provocation by law enforcement authorities.
Once a leader of a liberal opposition party, the Union of Rightist Forces, Belykh was one of the few provincial governors in Russia not closely allied with Putin.
Before serving as Kirov governor, Belykh was a deputy governor for the Perm region and a lawmaker in that region's Legislative Assembly.
He conducted several political campaigns in opposition to Putin's policies and was sharply criticized by liberals, such as former ally Boris Nemtsov -- who was assassinated in February 2015 -- when he accepted the appointment in 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin fired Belykh in July 2016, shortly after his arrest.