Moscow Court Rejects Navalny Appeal, But Reduces Sentence Slightly

A Moscow court has upheld opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's prison sentence relating to his embezzlement conviction, but reduced the sentence by about 50 days considering time served. Navalny was in court on February 20 to appeal the sentence handed down earlier this month in relation to the 2014 embezzlement case, which he has said is politically motivated. The prominent anti-corruption activist and Kremlin critic was scheduled to face a second court hearing later in the day relating to charges of defaming a World War II veteran.