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Oleg Navalny, the brother of Alexei Navalny, Russian anti-corruption activist, was released from prison after 3 1/2 years. He was met by supporters and family.
“Oleg Navalny, the younger brother of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, has been released from prison after spending 3 1/2 years behind bars in the so-called Yves Rocher case. Aleksei Navalny met his brother after he was released from a penal colony in the western region of Oryol on June 29. After being greeted by his wife, Viktoria, and his brother, Oleg said he was a bit tired and expressed his gratitude to all who supported him while he was in prison,” reported RFERL.
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“Friends, thank you for coming here today, for your time, and thanks to all who supported, who wrote [about me], who expressed concern and showed me compassion,” Oleg said.
Most analysts regard the charges against the two brothers, and imprisonment of Oleg, were politically motivated, as they were speaking out against and challenging the power of the current occupants of the Kremlin.
На свободе! pic.twitter.com/cx4jayrdrO
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) June 29, 2018
“Both were sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, but Aleksei’s sentence was suspended. The brothers denied the charges, saying the case was politically motivated — in part as an effort to turn Oleg into a “hostage” who could be used to blackmail his brother into refraining from his political and anticorruption activism. In October, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the brothers were convicted unfairly. But the Russian Supreme Court upheld the verdict against the two in April,” wrote RFERL.
