Russia sentences jailed Putin foe Navalny to 19 extra years

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MELEKHOVO, Russia — A Russian courtroom convicted imprisoned opposition chief Alexei Navalny on fees of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in jail on Friday. Navalny is already serving a nine-year time period on quite a lot of fees that he says have been politically motivated.

The brand new fees are associated to the actions of Navalny’s anti-corruption basis and statements by his prime associates. It was his fifth felony conviction and the third and longest jail time period handed to him, all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin technique to silence its most ardent opponent. Russian state information businesses reported that he would serve this new time period concurrently together with his present sentence on fees of fraud and contempt of courtroom.

The prosecution had demanded a 20-year jail sentence, and Navalny stated beforehand that he anticipated to obtain a prolonged time period.

He was additionally sentenced in 2021 to 2 and a half years in jail for a parole violation. The extremism trial occurred behind closed doorways within the penal colony east of Moscow the place Navalny is imprisoned.

Navalny appeared within the courtroom carrying jail garb and looking out gaunt, however with a defiant smile on his face. Because the decide learn out the decision, the politician stood alongside his attorneys and his co-defendant together with his arms crossed, listening with a critical expression on his face.

It took the decide lower than 10 minutes to announce the decision and the sentence — one thing that in Russia normally takes hours and even days. The listening to was broadcast to reporters in a separate room, however the decide’s speech was barely audible.

Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, confirmed the decision on social media, and so did the politician himself in a social media put up, presumably relayed by way of his group.

In a brief assertion posted a number of hours after the listening to, Navalny stated that “the quantity doesn’t matter.”

“I perceive completely that, as many political prisoners, I’m serving a life sentence, which is measured by the size of my life or the size of lifetime of this regime,” he stated and urged his supporters “to not lose the need to withstand” within the wake of his sentence.

The 47-year-old Navalny is President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe and has uncovered official corruption and arranged main anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Navalny’s allies stated the extremism fees retroactively criminalized all the anti-corruption basis’s actions since its creation in 2011. In 2021, Russian authorities outlawed the inspiration and the huge community of Navalny’s workplaces in Russian areas as extremist organizations, exposing anybody concerned to attainable prosecution.

One in every of Navalny’s associates, Daniel Kholodny, stood trial alongside him after being relocated from a distinct jail. His lawyer informed the unbiased Novaya Gazeta newspaper that Kholodny was sentenced to eight years in jail.

Navalny rejected all the fees towards him as politically motivated and accused the Kremlin of searching for to maintain him behind bars for all times.

On the eve of the decision listening to, Navalny launched an announcement on social media, presumably by way of his group, through which he stated he anticipated his newest sentence to be “enormous … a Stalinist time period.” Below the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, hundreds of thousands of individuals have been branded “enemies of the state,” jailed and generally executed in what grew to become referred to as the “Nice Terror.”

In his assertion, Navalny referred to as on Russians to “personally” resist and inspired them to assist political prisoners, distribute flyers or go to a rally. He informed Russians that they may select a secure approach to withstand, however he added that “there may be disgrace in doing nothing. It’s shameful to let your self be intimidated.”

The politician is presently serving his sentence in a maximum-security jail — Penal Colony No. 6 within the city of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometers (greater than 140 miles) east of Moscow.

He has spent months in a tiny one-person cell, additionally referred to as a “punishment cell,” for purported disciplinary violations, resembling an alleged failure to button his jail garments correctly, introduce himself appropriately to a guard or to clean his face at a specified time.

On social media, Navalny’s associates urged supporters to return to Melekhovo on Friday to specific solidarity with the politician.

About 40 supporters from completely different Russian cities gathered exterior the colony, one in every of them informed The Related Press within the messaging app Telegram. Yelena, who spoke given that her final identify was withheld for security causes, stated the supporters weren’t allowed into the colony, however determined to remain exterior till the decision as introduced: “Folks suppose it’s necessary to be close by at the very least like that, for ethical assist. We will likely be ready.”