News Home / News / News Back to newsline 18 July 2013 Mikhail Gorbachev reacts to the sentencing of Alexey Navalny All I know about this case, including the way it was opened, closed and then reopened, and the way it was considered in court, unfortunately, is proof that we do not have independent courts. Without going into details I’ll just say that the whole story leaves a sad impression. I am convinced that using the courts against political opponents is unacceptable. Since Alexey Navalny’s lawyers are appealing I believe that this may not yet be the end of this case. Mikhail Gorbachev 18 July 2013