RantCrush Top 5: February 9, 2017

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who came into the spotlight in 2008 after writing about corruption in the Putin Administration, announced last year that he wanted to run for president in 2018. But yesterday a Russian court found him guilty of embezzlement, in a retrial of a 2013 case. He was found guilty during the first trial, but then the European Court of Human Rights overturned the verdict, saying he didn’t get a fair trial. This time, Navalny got a five-year suspended sentence and will not be able to run in the election. He maintains his stance that the accusations are politically motivated and tweeted pictures of the previous verdict, saying that it was “copy-pasted 100 percent.”

Russian oppo leader found guilty of “embezzlement,” may not be able to run against Putin. How convenient. https://t.co/ZcO6e8JAAs

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 8, 2017

President Vladimir Putin has been in power in some form or another for almost 20 years and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.