Russian court sentences Navalny ally to 18 months of supervision

A Russian court has sentenced Lyubov Sobol, a close ally of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, to 18 months under parole-like restrictions for protests against the government, The Associated Press reported.

The Moscow court found Sobol guilty of inciting citizens to violate the country’s COVID-19 rules by urging them to protest the arrest of Navalny in January.

During her 1 1/2-year sentence, Sobol will be prohibited from leaving her residence between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and barred from attending large events or traveling outside of Moscow, according to the AP. 

Sobol’s attorney Vladimir Voronin told the newswire that she will check in with police three times a month as well, the AP reported.

Sobol’s sentencing comes after Russian authorities in June labeled Navalny’s political group Foundation for Fighting Corruption and other political affiliates as extremist groups.

Navalny, who has been an open critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested and sentenced in February to 2 1/2 years in prison after a court ruled he violated the terms of a suspended sentence in 2014. He has said the original embezzlement conviction was politically motivated.

Authorities also banned 50 websites that were run by Navalny’s team in July and asked Twitter to ban Sobol’s account from its platform, which Sobol criticized as “the Kremlin’s hysteria,” the AP reported.