MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has denounced a Moscow court hearing that is deciding whether he should be sent to prison for years. He called it a vain attempt by the Kremlin to scare millions of Russians into submission. The 44-year-old anti-corruption investigator was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from Berlin. He spent five months in Germany recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities deny the charge. In court, Navalny attributed his arrest to President Vladimir Putin’s “fear and hatred.” Russian authorities allege Navalny violated the probation of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction that he rejects as politically motivated.
Kremlin foe Navalny slams court that may jail him for years
