The court in St. Petersburg refused to replace the unserved sentence in a colony with correctional labor for a participant in the rally in support of Navalny

The Kolpinsky District Court of St. Petersburg rejected the petition of a participant in the January 2021 action in support of Alexei Navalny, Nikolai the Ninth, to replace the unserved part of the sentence with correctional labor. This was reported by the press service of the city courts.

The reasons for the rejection of the application are unknown. Ninth’s lawyer said that his client does not need to continue being in prison, since he “has firmly taken the path of correction and has positive plans for the future.” In addition, he has no previous convictions, is married, has an education, works as an electrician at the place of his imprisonment and has no penalties from the administration.

In August 2021, a court in St. Petersburg sentenced Nine to four and a half years in prison. According to investigators, during a rally in support of Navalny on January 23, 2021, a man punched a traffic police officer in the face (Part 2 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code). Then, investigators believe, the St. Petersburg resident hit another policeman in an attempt to escape.

The next day, January 24, Ninth was detained and sent to pre-trial detention. The Petersburg resident admitted guilt and asked for house arrest.