Aug 3, 2021 - World

Navalny ally sentenced to 18 months of restricted freedom over protests

Ivana Saric

Lyubov Sobol is seen outside Moscow's Preobrazhensky District Court after her sentencing on Aug. 3, speaking into a mic — Lyubov Sobol is seen outside Moscow's Preobrazhensky District Court after her sentencing on Aug. 3. Photo: Sergei Karpukhin\TASS via Getty Images

A Moscow court sentenced a Russian opposition leader Tuesday to 18 months of restricted freedom over her role in organizing last winter's mass pro-Alexey Navalny protests, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: Lyubov Sobol's sentencing is part of a wider crackdown by the Russian government on Navalny's allies, several of whom are slated to stand trial on the same charges as Sobol, Reuters reports.

The big picture: The court found Sobol guilty of inciting people to break coronavirus restrictions by calling on people to come out and protest, per AP.

For a year and a half, Sobol will be banned from leaving her apartment between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and attending mass events. She will also be required to check in with police three times a month, AP reports.
Sobol is one of Navalny's closest allies and has worked with him since 2011. She was previously a lawyer for his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was banned as an "extremist organization" by the government this past April.

Sobol has called the charge "politically-motivated nonsense," per Reuters.

She was placed under house arrest six months ago, leaving the possibility that her sentence could last only a year, according to her lawyer, per AP.

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Navalny ally sentenced to 18 months of restricted freedom over protests

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