俄罗斯反对派领导人被判5年缓刑

A Russian judge has given prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny a five-year suspended sentence after he was convicted of embezzlement, a decision that may prevent him from running in next year's presidential election.

Navalny, who maintains his innocence, said he would appeal the sentence and would still run for president against Vladimir Putin, should Putin decide to seek another term in office.

"We don't recognize this ruling," Navalny said after he was sentenced. "I have every right to take part in the election, according to the constitution, and I will do so," he added.

Navalny accused Russian government officials of trying to block him from running for president, claiming the sentence was "a message saying that they consider me, my team and the people whose views I'm representing too dangerous to be allowed into the election campaign."

When reporters asked if Navalny's absence from the presidential race would compromise the validity of the election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, "We don't believe any concerns about this are appropriate."

Russian law bars anyone found guilty of committing a "high-level crime," which would include embezzlement, from running for office for 10 years.

Navalny announced in December his intent to run for president in 2018, when Putin's current term expires. He said after the verdict he believed he could still run for office because the 10 year disqualification does not apply to those given a suspended sentence.

Navalny first became publicly known for exposing fraud in Russian state corporations. He was a leader during protests in 2011 and 2017 that united around Putin's return to the presidency.

俄罗斯一名法官判处著名反对派领导人阿列克谢·纳瓦尔尼5年徒刑，缓期执行。纳瓦尔尼被判犯有贪污罪。这一结果可能阻碍他参加明年的总统选举。

纳瓦尔尼坚持自己的清白，并表示他将上诉，而且如果普京决定再次寻求连任，他也仍将参加总统竞选。

纳瓦尔尼在被判刑后说：“我们不承认这个裁决。”他补充说，“根据宪法，我有权参加选举，我会这样做。”

纳瓦尔尼指责俄罗斯政府官员试图阻止他竞选总统，称对他的判决传递了“一条信息，他们认为我、我的团队和我的意见所代表的人太危险，不能参加竞选活动。”

当记者问到如果纳瓦尔尼缺席总统竞选是否会损害选举的有效性时，克里姆林宫发言人佩斯科夫回答说，“我们认为任何有关的担心都是不合适的。”

俄罗斯法律禁止任何被判犯有“重罪”的人10年内不得参加公职竞选，其中包括贪污罪。

纳瓦尔尼去年12月宣布了他将在2018年参加总统竞选的意图，届时普京的任期将满。他说，他相信在被判刑后仍然可以参选，因为10年取消资格的要求不适用于缓刑的情况。

纳瓦尔尼最初因揭露俄罗斯国营公司的欺诈而被公众熟知。他领导了2011年和2017年因不满普京重新担任总统而举行的抗议。