Prosecutors want to a two-year probation sentence for Alexey Navalny’s right-hand man

Russian prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence oppositionist Leonid Volkov to two years of probation in the so-called “Microphone Case,” where he stands accused of damaging a tabloid journalist’s equipment. Volkov maintains his innocence, and his lawyers have asked the court to throw out the case. Volkov says the charges are meant to saddle him with a criminal conviction, revoking his right to run for elected office in the near future. A verdict is expected next week, on August 31.

According to investigators, in July 2015, Volkov apparently tried to tear a microphone out the hands of LifeNews journalist Alexander Postupinsky. The microphone was allegedly damaged in the process. Later, after experts verified the working order of the microphone, Postupinksky gave an additional statement saying that Volkov had “forcibly grabbed his left arm and caused physical pain.” As a result, Volkov is being charged under the Russian Criminal Code’s rather exotic Article 144: obstructing the legitimate activities of a journalist. If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison. 

Leonid Volkov acted as the campaign manager for an opposition group in Russsia’s autumn 2015 regional elections. He is one of opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s closest associates.

Thanks to a law signed by Vladimir Putin in February 2014, former convicts (even those with suspended sentences) cannot run for political office for 10 years after their prison or probation terms expire. (For more serious crimes, this prohibition lasts 15 years.)