Moscow - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted
of embezzlement on Wednesday in a verdict that will likely prevent
him from running for president next year.
Navalny, who announced his presidential campaign just two months ago
to challenge longtime leader Vladimir Putin, was found guilty of
embezzlement from the state-owned lumber company Kirovles.
Navalny, 40, has denounced the charges as politically motivated.
Authorities have accused him of committing the crime while serving as
an adviser to a governor of Russia's central Kirov region.
Navalny was previously convicted in the Kirovles case in 2013.
However, the European Court of Human Rights excoriated the
proceedings as unfair, and Russia's Supreme Court ordered a retrial.