In this image grab made from video released by Navalny Life youtube channel, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks as he waits for a court hearing, in a police station in Khimki, outside in Moscow, Russia on Jan 18, 2021. (PHOTO / NAVALNY LIFE YOUTUBE CHANNEL VIA AP)

MOSCOW - Russian state prosecutors on Tuesday asked for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be fined 950,000 roubles (US$12,962) for slandering a World War Two veteran, a charge he calls politically motivated.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny described the people in the video backing constitutional reforms that let Putin run for two more terms in the Kremlin as traitors and corrupt lackeys. He accuses authorities of using the slander charges to smear his reputation

Navalny was jailed this month for almost three years for parole violations he said were trumped up. The West has condemned the case and is discussing possible sanctions on Russia.

In the slander case, Navalny stands accused of defaming a World War Two veteran who took part in a promotional video backing constitutional reforms last year. Navalny described the people in the video as traitors and corrupt lackeys. 

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Veterans of what Moscow calls the Great Patriotic War are revered by most Russians and criticism of them is regarded as socially unacceptable and insulting.

Although the slander charge, if proven, is punishable by up to two years in jail, his lawyer has said that Navalny cannot face a custodial sentence in this instance because the alleged crime was committed before the law was changed to make it a jailable offence.

It remains unclear whether the judge in the case agrees with that analysis.

Lesser punishments include a fine or community service.

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Navalny’s arrest and jailing sparked nationwide street protests in Russia, but his allies say they have paused serious demonstrations until the spring.