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Navalny appears before court for Kirovles embezzlement trial

Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and member of the State Duma lower house of parliament Dmitry Gudkov are also present in the courtroom

KIROV, April 17 (Itar-Tass) – Famous blogger Alexei Navalny has appeared before the Leninsky court of Kirov to participate in the hearing on charges of embezzling Kirovles company’s property.

He came to the court accompanied by his wife and two lawyers. Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and member of the State Duma lower house of parliament Dmitry Gudkov are also present in the courtroom.

Navalny is accused of committing a crime under Article 33, part3 and Article 160, part 4 of the RF Criminal Code (organisation of misappropriation or embezzlement).

The charges brought against Navalny envisage imprisonment for a term of up 10 years with a fine of up to one million roubles.

This trial has evoked major interest in the media. About 100 people want to attend Wednesday’s court meeting. About the same number came from the Russian capital to support Navalny, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and MP Dmitry Gudkov. However, only 60 people will be able to get to the courtroom. In this connection, many people lined up at the court building during the night.

Itar-Tass has learnt that that the court leadership organised very good conditions for the media for the hearings’ coverage.

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