Moscow
(AsiaNews) - The opposition blogger Alexei
Navalny will run in elections for mayor
of Moscow. He declared as much speaking
to journalists and supporters who
welcomed him today, 20 July,
at Moscow's Yarsolavsky station,
returning from Kirov. The lawyer-blogger
who has become the leader of the
anti-Putin movement was sentenced on 17 July by a local
court to five years in a penal
colony for fraud and embezzlement
in a trail many consider the Kremlin's political
vendetta against the 'activist who for years has denounced corruption at the highest levels of
the civil service.
After arresting him in the courtroom, the judges finally decided
to release him: He will have to stay in Moscow until
the appeal is set, but that does not prevent him from participating in the electoral race.
"We will participate in the
elections and we will win," he said to his numerous supporters. He then acknowledged that he expects a difficult
campaign, but said he was willing to work hard in
the coming weeks that separate him from the 8 September vote. He will challenge
the current mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin,
who is widely favored
in the polls.
Among the crowd that gave him a heros
welcome, many wore T-shirts
that read "I am Navalny's brother" as a sign of solidarity. Some chanted
"Navalny mayor." (N.A.)