Russian court jails opposition leader Navalny 2 1/2 years

A Moscow court has ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison for more than 2 1/2 years for violating the terms of his probation while he was recuperating in Germany from a nerve-agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.

The ruling ignited protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg and there will almost certainly be more in the weeks ahead as the Kremlin battles with a burgeoning protest movement. Massive pro-Navalny protests have erupted across Russia’s vast expanse over the past two weekends in which thousands have been arrested.

Navalny, the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, denounced the proceedings as a vain attempt by the Kremlin to scare millions of Russians into submission, Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov report from Moscow.

The prison sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that he has rejected as fabricated.

The 44-year-old Navalny was arrested January 17 upon returning from his five-month convalescence in Germany from the attack, which he has blamed on the Kremlin. Russian authorities deny any involvement.

Navalny attributed his arrest to Putin’s “fear and hatred,” saying the Russian leader will go down in history as a “poisoner.”

He added, “I have deeply offended him simply by surviving the assassination attempt that he ordered.”

 “The aim of this hearing is to scare a great number of people,” Navalny said. “You can’t jail the entire country.”