Moscow court keeps opposition leader’s brother in prison

A Moscow court has upheld the verdict against Alexey and Oleg Navalny, reports Meduza’s correspondent.

The Navalnys’ sentences remain unchanged: Alexey keeps his three-a-half-year suspended sentence, while Oleg will spend as many years in prison.

The court did, however, strike down the 500,000-ruble ($8,000) fine against Alexey, while leaving the penalty in place for Oleg.

• Alexey Navalny, perhaps the most prominent opposition leader in Russia today, and his brother Oleg were convinced of fraud in late December. According to prosecutors, Oleg Navalny forced a local branch of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher to agree to an unprofitable contract for cargo transportation, causing the company financial losses.
• Oleg Navalny currently resides in a Moscow detention center. Alexey Navalny has been under house arrest for the last year, though he’s refused to comply with its terms for the last six weeks, claiming any form of incarceration is illegal, now that he’s received a verdict in the Yves Rocher case.