World press on Navalny case (July 21, 2013)

On July 19th The New Yoker published an article by Masha Lipman devoted to the case of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who has recently been sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement. The decision made by a court in Kirov has been condemned by the Russian opposition and human rights advocates as well as by international watchdogs, the United States and the European Union. The court decided that Navalny should be taken into custody immediately, but the decision was soon repealed on teh request of the prosecutor's office. The situation is almost unprecedented in the history of the Russian law.

"While the true cause of this turn of events remains unknown, we may be seeing the product of divisions among Russian élites, with some seeking to have Navalny securely locked up (not least because they are anxious to settle personal scores with him stemming from his disclosures about high-level corruption), and others concerned about other matters, such as giving the mayoral election in Moscow a more competitive, and therefore more legitimate, appearance. Navalny had registered as a candidate in the race; the softer faction associated with the government may actually want him to run, so that everyone can see him lose. In any case, Russian lawyers say the developments in the Navalny affair are unprecedented and possibly unlawful. “Neither yesterday’s petition of the prosecution nor today’s court ruling have anything to do with what legislation says,” a lawyer remarked. What happened is so bizarre, a blogger wrote, that “even if this court acquitted Navalny and opened proceedings against Putin, it would be less surprising,” the article reads.

"Now, Navalny should be free to continue his mayoral campaign in Moscow. But as he told the press immediately after his release, "I am not a pet kitten or a puppy that can be dropped and then brought back to the election. I will … discuss with my headquarters in Moscow … in which form we will continue our campaign, whether it will be a boycott or participation," the article reads.

"That freedom is undoubtedly temporary. His and his co-defendant’s conviction will most likely be confirmed by a higher court. Even if the eventual sentence is shorter than five years, it will still disqualify him as a political candidate. And if the reëxamination of the charges is scheduled for before the mayoral election, on September 8th, the Navalny campaign would have to be terminated midstream. Navalny’s fate is in the hands of Russia’s most powerful decision-makers. But although he remains securely on the hook, right now he’s free—and he’s going to use his freedom to the full," the author writes.

She also compairs Navalny's return to Moscow with that of Andrey Sakharov, released by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986, and that of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on July 23, 1994.