Former prosecutor general says Navalny case is politically motivated

Former Russian prosecutor general Yury Skuratov says it is quite clear that the Alexey Navalny case is politically motivated. The former top official said so in an interview with the private Dozhd TV channel.

A court in Kirov recently found opposition leader Alexey Navalny guilty of embezzlement. The case has been condemned as politically motivated by the Russian opposition, human rights advocates and international bodies.

Yury Skuratov served as Russia's prosecutor general in 1995-1999. He was fired after the prosecutor general's office launched an investigation into the activities of several top officials, including the deputy prime minister, the minister of foreign affairs, the deputy minister of finance and daughters of President Boris Yeltsin.

Skuratov believes that Vladimir Putin, who then served as the head of the Federal Security Service, played a major role in his ouster.