Sentence in ‘Kirovles case’ deprives Navalny of possibility of running in presidential elections under law on presidential elections in Russia – lawyer

MOSCOW. Feb 8 (Interfax) – Under the legislation on presidential elections, opposition politician Alexei Navalny cannot participate in the upcoming election campaign due to his conviction in the Kirovles case,” according to which he has been found guilty of embezzlement, his lawyer Olga Mikhailova told Interfax.

“According to the law on [presidential] elections, a person convicted for a grave crime – and Article 160 of the Russian Criminal Code proscribes a grave crime – loses the right to run,” Mikhailova said on Wednesday.

In accordance with Item 5.2 of the federal law On Presidential elections, citizens sentenced to prison terms for the commission of a grave and (or) especially grave crime and who have an unexpunged or unspent conviction for the said crime, and also people sentenced to prison terms for the commission of a grave crime whose conviction was spent or expunged have no right to be elected president of Russia until ten years pass from the day on which the conviction is spent or expunged.

Thus, Navalny cannot run for president in the next decade if the court does not expunge his conviction.

At the same time, Mikhailova said the Russian Constitution allows all citizens, except for those who are in prison, to be elected.

“That is, there is a legal collision in this case,” she said.

The lawyer said the sentence to Navalny has not taken legal effect yet.

According to the Russian Constitution, citizens who have been found legally incapable by court and citizens who are in prison under court rulings have no right to elect and be elected.