The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has lost an appeal against his prison sentence – despite an impassioned appeal in a Moscow court.
The judge shaved just six weeks from his original sentence – meaning Mr Navalny is likely to spend two and a half years in a labour camp.
Before the verdict – he urged Russians to stand up to the Kremlin – declaring “to live is to risk it all”. He was also convicted in a separate defamation case today.