A court in the central Russian region of Orlov has ruled against the release of Oleg Navalny — the brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — on parole, the Dozhd news outlet reported Monday.
The decision was made during a closed parole hearing at the penal colony where Oleg is currently serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence. He appealed for release earlier this month after serving more than two thirds of his sentence.
Navalny’s lawyer Kirill Polozov said prior to the hearing that the chances of positive outcome were “very doubtful” due to a number of reprimands while in jail and a negative report from prison managers. Navalny was punished on one occasion after he was caught wearing a shirt instead of jacket while exercising, Dozhd reported.
Oleg Navalny and his brother were found guilty of fraud and laundering funds from French cosmetics firm Yves Rocher on Dec. 30, 2014. Alexei Navalny received three-year suspended sentence.
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