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Court gives suspended prison sentence to Navalny’s brother for violations at 2021 rally

Oleg Navalny's lawyer Nikos Paraskevov stressed that the defense team will challenge the court decision

MOSCOW, August 6./TASS/. Moscow’s Preobrazhensky district court on Friday sentenced blogger Alexey Navalny’s brother Oleg to one year of suspended prison sentence in the case of the violation of sanitary regulations during an unauthorized rally, the court’s press service told TASS.

"The court found Oleg Navalny guilty under Part 1 of Article 236 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules which inadvertently led to a mass illness or poisoning of the people or created a threat of such consequences), and sentenced him to one year of suspended prison sentence with the probation period of one year," the press service said.

Within this period of time, the person cannot change the permanent or temporary place of residence without notifying a specialized state agency, exercising control over the probationary, and must appear for registration with the specialized agency.

A government representative asked the court for a one year suspended prison sentence for Oleg Navalny. According to the prosecuting party, Oleg made appeals via social networks, urging people to take part in a protest rally in January 2021, through this action violating the coronavirus requirements. Oleg Navalny pleads not guilty.

The defense team of Oleg Navalny will challenge the court decision, his lawyer Nikos Paraskevov said.

On August 3, Moscow’s Preobrazhensky Court sentenced former lawyer of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and activist Lyubov Sobol to 18 months of restriction of freedom, finding her guilty of violating sanitary rules during an unauthorized protest rally in January 2021.

Apart from Sobol, Oleg Navalny, brother of blogger Alexei Navalny, Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina, head of Doctors’ Alliance Anastasia Vasilyeva, coordinator of Alexei Navalny’s Moscow headquarters Oleg Stepanov as well as several more Anti-Corruption Foundation employees also stand accused.