A court in the Russian city of Kirov has sentenced opposition activist Aleksei Navalny to five years in prison on embezzlement charges that he said were politically motivated. Navalny and co-defendant Pytor Ofitserov were charged with stealing and illegally selling $500,000 of lumber from the Kirovles timber company in 2009. Ofitserov was given a four-year sentence.
Navalny Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
![Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny reacts as the judge reads his sentence.](https://gdb.rferl.org/628b75bb-1ce1-48f2-9500-219429566e38_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny reacts as the judge reads his sentence.
![Judge Sergei Blinov reads the verdict during the hearing in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/86fecaa9-fd9f-4b2c-bd09-6827699f36d4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Judge Sergei Blinov reads the verdict during the hearing in Kirov.
![Pyotr Ofitserov (left), Navalny's co-defendant, embraces his wife after the announcement of the verdict in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/77d56ce2-5ba4-4298-bb7e-45ae87f12801_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Pyotr Ofitserov (left), Navalny's co-defendant, embraces his wife after the announcement of the verdict in Kirov.
![A policeman puts handcuffs on protest leader Aleksei Navalny inside the courtroom in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/aeea3fba-f3c0-4567-92bb-a20303d308a5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A policeman puts handcuffs on protest leader Aleksei Navalny inside the courtroom in Kirov.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/18b891e1-f750-4360-a3af-4637863463fb_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![Yulia Navalnaya leaves the courtroom in Kirov.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2250417a-9565-47e9-8206-30cd3a15d93b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Yulia Navalnaya leaves the courtroom in Kirov.
![Aleksei Navalny passes his watch and phone to his wife as he is led away in handcuffs.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a75cc557-e55f-46f0-8c6d-fc284c9797aa_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Aleksei Navalny passes his watch and phone to his wife as he is led away in handcuffs.
![Aleksei Navalny leaves the courtroom.](https://gdb.rferl.org/7efb5593-ce56-4ccb-908e-d8c5d7d6e7ed_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Aleksei Navalny leaves the courtroom.