Putin foe Navalny sentenced to nine years in prison after fraud conviction in ‘sham trial’
- Court in Moscow convicted opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was already in prison, on new charges, keeping him out of active politics
- The 45-year-old told the court everyone should ‘oppose this war’ and Ukraine invasion ‘will result in Russia’s collapse and disintegration’
A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to nine years in a maximum-security prison on fraud charges, in a ruling that will keep President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent out of active politics for years ahead.
Navalny, who was also found guilty of contempt of court, was already serving a 2.5 year sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he said were trumped up to thwart his political ambitions.
Navalny, who was also fined 1.2 million roubles (US$11,535), dismissed the latest criminal case against him as politically motivated and pleaded not guilty.
It was not immediately clear whether Navalny was expected to serve the sentence concurrently with his current one or on top of it, and which maximum security facility he would be transferred to and when. His lawyers were detained by police outside the prison following the verdict, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.
Navalny used his appearances during the trial to denounce Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has plunged Russia into economic crisis and international isolation.
His new conviction comes amid a harsh crackdown on dissent since the start of the war a month ago, with Putin labelling those opposed to the invasion as “traitors”.
This week Russia banned Facebook and Instagram as “extremist” and the authorities have blocked or shut down independent media to control access to information.