In a surprise move, a Russian court has bumped up the date of its ruling in the high-profile trial of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, seemingly to avoid protests in his support.
Along with his brother Oleg, Alexei Navalny is charged with defrauding a French cosmetics company, though the cosmetics company says that no crime has been committed by the two men. Prosecutors are asking that the brothers be sentenced to between eight and ten years in prison for stealing 30 million rubles (about $535,00).
Navalny and his supporters say the charges are politically motivated. The anti-corruption crusader and blogger has long been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin.
The verdict in Navalny's case had been scheduled for Jan. 15 but was moved up to Tuesday.
"The reason for the transfer is that the verdict is already ready," Gazeta.ru quoted a spokesperson for the court as saying.
Court confirms @navalny sentencing moved to tomorrow - "the ruling was already complete," Ifax cites press secretary— greg white (@whitegl) December 29, 2014
But the real reason for the date change, activists and Navalny supporters say, is that Russian authorities fear rallies in support of Navalny. More than 33,000 people had pledged via a Facebook event page to show up for a rally in Moscow on Jan. 15, the original date set for the verdict in Navalny's case.
Shenanigans around #Navalny verdict date indicate govt is seriously worried. Officials trying to cover their asses in case protests are big.— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) December 29, 2014
On Monday, organizers scrambled to make people aware of the new date by creating a new Facebook events page. Just after 5:45 p.m. Moscow time, more than 7,700 had indicated they would participate in a protest on Tuesday.
Some journalists were quick to point out the historical significance of Dec. 30, the new date for the verdict.
December 30, 2010, is the day when jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted in his second trial. History is repeating.— Nataliya Vasilyeva (@NatVasilyevaAP) December 29, 2014
Others tried to lighten the mood in typical Russian fashion, with some dark humor.
Tomorrow at 9am @navalny will take over the role of celebrity gulag inmate.— Vladimir Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) December 29, 2014
Navalny rose to prominence after leading anti-Putin protests in Moscow in 2011. Though failed to win Moscow's mayoral election in 2013, he had unexpectedly strong support.
A lawyer, he was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to prison later that year but was given a suspended sentence and released after thousands took to the streets to protest his conviction.
In February, he was placed under house arrest in the current case.