Russian Prison Service Seeks Extension Of Navalny's Suspended Kirovles Sentence

Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has asked a Moscow court to extend by one year the five-year suspended prison sentence that opposition leader Aleksei Navalny is currently serving on an embezzlement conviction in the so-called Kirovles case.

The Interfax news agency reported on June 9 that the FSIN request notes that Navalny has been repeatedly convicted of administrative offenses over the past year, which is a violation of the terms of his suspended sentence.

Navalny is currently serving a 30-day jail term for disobeying a police order at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin on May 5.

The court has previously rejected FSIN requests to extend Navalny's sentence or to convert it into a custodial term.

Moscow's Simovsky district court will hold a hearing on the FSIN request on June 13.

Navalny's five-year suspended sentence in the case -- which he and supporters say was politically motivated retaliation for his anti-Putin activity -- is due to expire in July.

With reporting by Interfax