20.07 Navalnys Supporters May Face Up to 3 Yrs in Jail for Vandalism Police
MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) Moscow police said Saturday that supporters of Alexei Navalny may face up to three years in jail for leaving offensive graffiti and stickers during a rally against the opposition leaders conviction.
Thousands gathered in central Moscow and in Russias largest cities Thursday night, hours after Navalny was sentenced to five years in jail on embezzlement charges during a trial that was internationally condemned as Kremlins retaliation for his role in massive rallies against Vladimir Putins return to presidency last year.
The walls and doors of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, were covered with hundreds of stickers reading "Change Russia. Start from Moscow" with Navalnys name and face on them along with sometimes obscene graffiti denouncing Putin and the party of crooks and thieves, a phrase the anti-corruption blogger coined to ridicule the Kremlins United Russia party.
Moscow police said in a statement that the yet unidentified protesters who left the stickers and graffiti will be charged with vandalism and face hefty fines and up to three years in jail.
Navalny was released on Friday pending an appeal at the request of the prosecution, which said his premature detention would harm his bid for the Moscow mayoral elections on September 8. He said that Thursdays protests contributed to his release.
