Russian opposition head Navalny's presidential hopes dashed

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking to journalists as leaves the court in Kirov, Russia. Photo: Sergei Bonurin/AP

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking to journalists as leaves the court in Kirov, Russia. Photo: Sergei Bonurin/AP

Published Feb 8, 2017

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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.

dpa

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