Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny condemns 20-day jail sentence as 'birthday present for Putin'

Navalny's campaign manager, also jailed for 20 days, says he will stage a hunger strike in prison

Alexei Navalny enters a court room in Moscow for his latest trial (AP)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 20 days in prison for calling an unsanctioned rally, disrupting the Kremlin critic's plans to attend another major gathering this weekend.

The narrow corridor leading to the tiny courtroom of Moscow’s Simonovsky Court was packed with journalists and supporters, all jostling for position with arms, knees, and elbows. Even the man being put on trial, who hopes to challenge for the presidency in elections next year, had difficulty getting in.

“You see, they won’t let me in anywhere,” Navalny said. “They won’t let me have rallies, they won’t let me run [for the presidency] and they won’t even let me into my own trial.”

A relaxed Navalny told the journalists that made it through the door that he expected no more than a fine— not the jail sentence that came. The tea leaves were pointing in the way of leniency, he said. There were not many police in the building, no police vans outside, and he’d been allowed to walk free over the weekend. Navalny tweeted, he joked with staff, and posed for photographers gathered by the door— until a SWAT officer appeared from behind his back to slam the door shut.

Later, the police officers were in place, and Navalny learned of his custodial sentence. The opposition leader was guilty of calling on supporters to attend an illegal rally, the judge ruled.

“It’s a birthday present for the old man Putin,” Navalny retorted, referring to President Vladimir Putin. “He’s frightened of our rallies.”

Russia’s president will celebrate his 65th birthday on 7 October — the same day that Navalny had organised a rally in his home city of St Petersburg.

Navalny’s rallies have put him in direct confrontation with the Kremlin. According to a controversial law introduced in Mr Putin’s first term, mass public meetings need to agreed by local authorities. In practice, the assembly law has been used to blunt opposition forces. The vast majority of Navalny’s rallies have not received official permission.

In March, however, Navalny called on his supporters to ignore authorities and participate in rallies whether sanctioned or not. Tens of thousands of Russians answered the call. A large number were also arrested— over a thousand in Moscow alone.

On Friday, Navalny had issued a similar call to supporters in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s fifth largest city. On his way to the rally, the politician was detained by police.

There is some confusion whether Navalny received permission to hold the event or not. On Friday, the opposition leader claimed the rally was sanctioned by local authorities. In court on Monday, however, he accepted that permission — even if issued — had been withdrawn at last minute. He argued that he was “simply doing what a candidate does.”

“We might need to get used to each other,” quipped the opposition leader to the sitting judge. “We’ve got many more rallies planned.”

The judge for a moment smiled, recognising, perhaps, his role in the performance.

The ruling is Navalny's third jail sentence this year, having served 15 days for resisting arrest following the protests in March and then 25 days in the summer for repeatedly violating the controversial law on organising public meetings.

The Kremlin has so far shown no signs of obliging Navalny’s ambitions to ballot next spring. It contends that a criminal conviction, which many consider politically motivated, renders the opposition leader’s challenge invalid.

President Putin has yet to mention Navalny by name. He still enjoys stratospheric approval ratings — above 80 per cent, according to the respected Levada polling group. But given the otherwise barren political field in Russia, Navalny is Mr Putin’s most obvious challenge.

Navalny’s unofficial presidential campaign has built obvious momentum. Somehow, he has managed to open 80 election “hubs,” recruit over 100,000 volunteers and run dozens of rallies across the country. Navalny’s viral videos proposing allegations of corruption, which claim huge riches in Putin’s inner circle, have reached tens of millions. The Kremlin has dismissed the allegations in the videos as being without merit.

The Kremlin has been uncharacteristically indecisive in dealing with Navalny. In 2013, following mass protests in Moscow, authorities reversed a court decision to imprison him for five years for embezzlement. That court process has since ruled unfair by the European Court of Human Rights. Later, in 2014, a Russian court imprisoned Navalny’s brother for three and a half years, a verdict that many have interpreted as an attempt to create leverage on the opposition leader. Navalny himself has yet to receive a serious custodial sentence.

The Kremlin has not yet come to a clear understanding of what to do with Navalny, said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Moscow Carnegie Center. But the latest verdict has created a dangerous precedent for the presidential hopeful, he added.

“It shows that they are intent on making his life impossible and raises the possibility of a criminal case and long-term custodial sentence,” Mr Kolesnikov said.

Later on Friday, Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s campaign manager, was also sentenced to 20 days in jail. Writing in a series of emotional messages on Twitter, Mr Volkov announced the start of a hunger strike.

“Let us out, you b*******,” Mr Volkov wrote. “Let’s compete with our ideas and rallies, not courts and arrests.”

Mr. Volkov said the campaign of nationwide rallies would continue regardless of the verdicts.