– Kind of gameplay – VG

Russian experts believe Tuesday’s verdict against Alexei Navalny, 45, is little more than “representation” and “telephone law” to weaken one of Vladimir Putin’s main opponents.

This was simply to be expected, says NUPI researcher Jacob M.

The sentence was read in the concentration camp where Navalny now resides. Navalny was wearing a prison camp uniform at the time of his sentencing.

Navalny was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security criminal colony.

Navalny’s lawyers said they plan to appeal the ruling.

After the ruling, Navalny thanked Twitter for the support he had received. He called to oppose the Kremlin:

Any activity against the lies and thieves of the Putin regime. No opposition to these war criminals.

Both Norwegian Foreign Minister Anneken Hoetfeldt (Labor Party) and the United States condemned the ruling against the opposition leader.

– «Telefon-jus»

It is rare for a case to go to court in Russia without a conviction, especially if your name is Alexei and your last name is Navalny, says Godzimirski.

However, researcher NUPI described the experience as “exceptional.”

– This was also an exceptional case in many ways. The researcher at NUPI says that he did not go to court, but to the penal colony in which he is being held.

– All communications from the courtroom were blocked, except for the phone the judge had, says Godzimirsky. He notes that the judge may have consulted with the central administration in Moscow during the trial.

– In Russia you can call this “telephone law,” says Godzimirsky.

‘Important front character’

The Russian expert believes that Navalny has been the leading opposition politician in Russia for years.

Navalny was the most important front figure of the Russian opposition. Among other things, he ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 and received 27 percent of the vote, Godzimirsky says.

The researcher believes that the critic of the system exposed a lot of corruption of the Russian system and made it known to ordinary Russians.

– What makes Navalny a well-known figure is that he attacked the regime in a number of areas. Godzimirsky says he focused simply on exposing the system’s corruption.

– Attempted suicide

Godzimirsky says the Russian regime is filing corruption suits against Navalny to discredit his message.

In 2011, Navalny created the FBK (Anti-Corruption Fund).

– The accusations are now that he misused the money that came into the fund, says Godzimirski.

The reason Navalny is already in the prison camp is that Russian authorities have alleged that he broke the probation of his previously suspended prison sentence – also linked to alleged corruption.

In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned. Then he was taken to Germany for treatment, and therefore did not have the opportunity to report to the police, which he had to do according to the conditional ruling.

The critic Putin was arrested when he was arrested He arrived at Moscow airport last year.

the west has Condemned the poisonous attack several times.

For the record: Last year the European Court of Human Rights called for Navalny’s release “with immediate effect”. But a Russian appeals court rejected the opposition leader’s appeal.

“There is very good evidence that Navalny was tried for suicide with chemicals,” says Godzimirsky.

– He plays

Russian expert and senior advisor to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Inna Sangadzhieva, agrees with Godzimirsky’s description of the trial.

– This experience was just a kind of play, Sangadzhieva tells VG.

According to Sangadzhieva, Navalny is one of the only true opposition politicians in Russia.

Alexei Navalny is one of the only politicians in Russia who is actually a politician – unlike Putin. She also says he is the only one who has challenged Putin’s position.

The Russian expert notes, among other things, that Navalny mocked FSB agents (Russian intelligence. The former KGB, .anm magazines) in front of an open camera.

It shows that he knows no fear. Sangadzhieva says he helps incite Putin.

Fear Navalny

Is Putin afraid of Navalny?

– There is no doubt about that. Had they met as ordinary politicians at the debate, Putin would surely have lost, says Sangadzhieva, and points out that Putin is not involved in real political discussions.

The Russian expert believes the harsh ruling says something about how much the regime fears Navalny:

Given all the publicity and media blocking during the war, this ruling says a lot about how much the authorities feared Navalny.

Sangadzhieva believes that the ruling was planned long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

– I think this was planned before, the war probably doesn’t have much to say. This was already planned two years ago, when Navalny was arrested upon arrival in Moscow.

Don’t think Navalny is running away in the first place:

Most people, including me, think he won’t come out as long as Putin is in power. The number of years in the sentence does not matter.