Alexei Novalny and his former business partner Pyotr Ofitserov, two prominent Russian anti-corruption activists, were released from a Moscow prison Friday after being convicted the day before in a debatable embezzlement case.
Thursday, a district court in Kirov, Russia sentenced Navalny to five years in prison and Ofitserov to four years, both with a $15,000 fine for allegedly embezzling near $530,000 from a local timber company in 2009.
Many thought that these charges were only being brought on to remove Navalny from the political scene because he has been one of the most determined critics to speak out against Russian leader Vladimir Putin the past few years. Navalny also publicly criticized Putin’s political party, United Russia.
According to LA Times the White House and other country’s governments have also agreed that they think Navalny’s arrest was politically motivated and very biased.
After their sentencing Thursday, dozens of their supporters protested in Moscow and six other important Russian cities, leading to the arrest of around 200 protestors.
Washing Post reports that Novalny is a mayoral candidate in the Moscow elections this coming September. Prosecutors asked that he be released while waiting for his appeal to work on his campaign before the elections.
A court decision appeal in Russia would normally take around six weeks, which would be right around the time of Moscow’s election day, ironically enough.