Russian opposition leader jailed for five years

Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of large-scale theft.

Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest critics, has said the trial was politically motivated.

The sentence was immediately denounced by rights activists and Kremlin critics, many of whom say the trial was part of a clampdown on dissent in Mr Putin's third presidential term.

Navalny emerged from rallies against Mr Putin last year as the opposition's most dynamic leader.

He was convicted of organising the theft of timber worth more than 16 million roubles (€377,000) while advising the Kirov governor in 2009.

Judge Sergei Blinov said there was no extenuating circumstance that would warrant keeping Navalny out of prison with a suspended sentence, and that he could not be "corrected" without being isolated from society.

Prosecutors had asked for six years.

On Twitter, Navalny said the judge was simply repeating the accusations made by prosecutors and agreeing with them.

"So ... there will be no nice scenario with an acquittal," he tweeted.

Navalny has said he would like to be president and was registered yesterday to run in a Moscow mayoral election in September.

The five-year sentence means he will be released in time to contest the next presidential election, due in 2018.

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