Navalny TV technician gets eight years in prison – newspaper

(Reuters) – Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician working for the YouTube channel of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was found guilty on Friday of organising an extremist group, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Friday.

Kholodny was on trial alongside Navalny at the Melekhovo penal colony east of Moscow.

In a statement on the eve of the verdicts against both men, Navalny described the 25-year-old Kholodny as an “inspiration”, saying he had declined many offers to have himself released in exchange for testifying against others.

“Kholodny is bright, cheerful, doesn’t lose his presence of mind. And the main thing is he understands why this trial was invented but he doesn’t let it intimidate him or break his will. Be like him,” Navalny added in a message to supporters.

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)