Russian dissident Alexei Navalny decries slander trial, chides judge

The Kremlin critic is accused of defaming a second world war veteran who took part in a promotional video backing Russia’s constitutional reforms

At the hearing, the grandson of the veteran asked Navalny for a public apology, prompting the 44-year-old to refuse

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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Published: 12:41pm, 12 Feb 2021Updated: 9:11pm, 12 Feb 2021

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Friday appeared in court on slander charges he denounced as politically motivated amid mounting tensions between Russia and the West over his treatment.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, was jailed last week for almost three years for parole violations he said were trumped up. The West has condemned the case and is discussing possible sanctions on Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Friday that Moscow was ready to sever ties with the European Union if the bloc hit it with painful economic sanctions. Moscow has accused the West of hysteria over the case.

Navalny paced around inside a glass cage nicknamed the aquarium in the Moscow courtroom, railed against the slander case in several heated exchanges with the judge, and at one point told her she didn’t know the law and needed legal courses.

The judge reprimanded the 44-year-old lawyer at least 15 times and threatened to have him removed from the hearing.

Navalny stands accused of defaming a second world war veteran who took part in a promotional video backing constitutional reforms last year that let Putin run for two more terms in the Kremlin after 2024 if he wants.

Navalny described the people in the video as traitors and corrupt lackeys. He accuses authorities of using the slander charges to smear his reputation and said his comment was not specifically directed against the veteran in question.