MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2021) The Russian Prosecutor General's Office will insist on replacing opposition activist Alexey Navalny's suspended sentence, which was issued for an earlier embezzlement conviction, with a custodial term due to the blogger's repeated violations of his probation.
Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service has already called for Navalny to serve out the rest of his sentence behind bars, and the Prosecutor General's Office said on Monday that it was ready to support this position.
"The unlawful behavior of Alexey Navalny formed the basis of the submission ... that was made to cancel his suspended sentence and implement a custodial sentence as imposed by the court's verdict. This submission is deemed to be legal and reasonable. Taking into account all of the above, the prosecutor's office intends to defend this position in court," the press department said.
In December 2014, Navalny was convicted of embezzlement and given a suspended sentence of three and a half years, with a five-year probation period. According to the court, Navalny has failed to appear in a timely fashion to register with the probation authorities. The blogger had his probationary period extended for one year in August 2017 over his repeated failures to appear.
The court also noted that Navalny is facing charges of defamation over a comment that has been deemed insulting towards a World War II veteran.
Navalny was detained in Moscow in mid-January upon his arrival from Germany, where he had undergone months of treatment after being allegedly poisoned with a nerve agent.
The blogger was subsequently placed in custody for 30 days for violating the probation terms of his embezzlement conviction.
