The judicial process against Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, seems fishy from start to finish. Oddly enough, that applies not just to his conviction for embezzlement, but also to the decision to release him on bail pending appeal. Such a release has no place in Russian law, and that it was called for by the prosecution as well as the defence makes it obvious that this was a political decision by the Kremlin.

One can only speculate about President Vladimir Putin’s motives, but since Mr Navalny’s release will probably allow him to stand for mayor of Moscow in September, it appears that the Kremlin wants to give the impression of a fair race and a legitimate result. This is especially necessary since Sergei Sobyanin, the existing mayor, undermined the legitimacy of these elections by suddenly bringing them forward by two years in an apparent attempt to give opponents no time to campaign properly.

Western governments, media and non-governmental organisations have quite rightly criticised Mr Navalny’s trial, which is only the latest in a series of abuses of the judicial system to target critics of the Putin administration. Such abuses are not only wrong in themselves, but also help prevent Russia’s development as a state and economy ruled – as far as possible – by the law. Western governments also have a right to criticise the Russian government because many of those targeted by Russian officialdom have been anti-corruption campaigners – and corruption is the biggest obstacle to western investment in Russia, and to Russian development in general.