Russian courts hand jail terms to dozens of Navalny mourners

People lay flowers and candles at a memorial on February 18 in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, following the death of the Kremlin’s most prominent critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison.//AFP

Moscou, Russia – Russian courts have sentenced dozens of people detained at events commemorating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to short prison sentences, official court announcements showed, with 154 sentenced in Saint Petersburg alone.

Details of rulings published by the city’s court service on Saturday and Sunday showed 154 people had been given jail time of up to 14 days for violating Russia’s strict anti-protest laws.

Rights groups and independent media outlets reported a handful of similar sentences in other cities across the country.

The 47-year-old Kremlin critic died on Friday at the Arctic prison colony where he was being held on charges widely seen as…