MOSCOW -- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his former business partner, Pyotr Ofitserov, were released from custody one day after their arrest in a district court in the regional capital city of Kirov, Interfax news agency reported.
Navalny and Ofitserov were sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively, and a $15,000 fine each for embezzling the equivalent of $530,000 from a local timber company in 2009.
Navalny, a popular blogger, lawyer and officially registered opposition candidate in the Moscow mayoral election set for Sept. 8, never pleaded guilty and declared the charges bogus and the trial politically motivated.
In the last few years, Navalny has been one of the most outspoken critics of Vladimir Putin, publicly calling the Russian leader a thief and his party, the United Russia, a group of swindlers and thieves. The criticism contributed to the ruling party's humiliating 50% showing in the parliamentary polls in December. Many experts considered Navalny's conviction a result of Putin's vengeance.
Massive protests shook a number of big cities in Russia Thursday night. In Moscow and St. Petersburg thousands of people demanding Navalny's release took to the streets and tried to block them. Police intervened and arrested dozens.
The United States and a number of Western governments expressed concern with what they termed an example of biased, politically motivated justice.
The White House on Thursday said Navalny's conviction was "politically motivated" and part of a "disturbing trend of government actions aimed at suppressing dissent and civil society in Russia."
"The numerous procedural shortcomings in this case also reinforce our broader concerns about rule of law in Russia," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
Friday morning the Russian General Prosecutor's office hurriedly appealed the arrest of the two men and Kirov regional court ruled that both of them should be released for the duration of the defense appeal procedures until the verdict officially goes into force.
Upon his release, Navalny immediately thanked his supporters "for making them release me and" Ofitserov.
"Even if it is temporary, let's use this time to shake up the swindlers," Navalny wrote in his Twitter account Friday morning. "We took a deep breath and down to work again. … Agitation, leaflets, everything."
Under the massive pressure from protesters at home and concerned governments abroad, the Kremlin had to urgently remedy the situation, said Andrei Piontkovsky, a senior researcher with the System Analysis Institute.
"By putting his key opponent in prison yesterday, Putin demonstrated that he is vengeful and not too smart as a politician," Piontkovsky said in an interview with the Times. "Today by initiating Navalny's release, Putin looks like a weak politician in the eyes of the general public consisting largely of his supporters."
Navalny was released on pledge that he not leave town.
sergei.loiko@latimes.com
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