Prominent Russian dissident breaks house arrest

MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Alexei Navalny, prominent Russian critic of President Vladimir Putin, said he is intentionally violating his house arrest to protest his conviction.

Convicted last week of defrauding two Russian companies, Navalny received a 3 1/2-year suspended sentence and was ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet until the sentence begins. He said on his website Monday he removed the bracelet, saying the terms of his confinement are "illegal" and that he is justified to "refuse to fulfill the requirements" of the house arrest.

His brother Oleg received a prison term of the same duration last week in what many regard as a politically motivated trial.

Alexei Navalny was among 2,000 who attended a spontaneous protest rally in Moscow on the night of the verdict, Dec. 31, and was immediately detained and returned home. Observers concluded the court's decision to move the verdict from Jan. 15 to Russia's biggest holiday, New Year's Eve, was a sign the Putin government is reluctant to help Navalny become a political martyr, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

On his website, Navalny wrote "I have no plans to travel anywhere, all I need in terms of movements is to be able to travel from home to the office and back, and spend my free time with my family," adding he is "the only person in the history of the Russian judiciary" to stay under house arrest after sentencing.

Navalny received 27 percent of the vote in Moscow's 2014 mayoral election and led mass protests against the Putin government in 2011 and 2012. Over 30,000 people pledged to attend a Jan. 15 demonstration on Navalny's behalf before the date of the verdict was moved up.