The charges against Mr. Navalny include creating and supporting an extremist group. He disputes the accusations. Infractions of parole, fraud, and court contempt had already resulted in a nine-year sentence for him. The accusations are frequently seen as politically motivated. In a far-off penal colony, where he has been detained since 2021, the trial was conducted. The Kremlin’s most outspoken critic will do his time in a “special regime colony,” as requested by Russian official prosecutors. These prisons, which are more restrictive than a high security colony, are often only used for serious criminals, repeat offenders, and people serving life sentences. There, he is probably subject to even more communication limitations and isolation from the outside world.
In addition, he might get fewer visitors than usual, such as his family and legal team, and he would spend more time in isolation.Mr. Navalny maintained his defiance following the decision in a statement to his supporters that was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “You are being terrified and stripped of the will to resist, not me. We must stop Putin before he succeeds. Keep your will to resist, he urged.
“Behind closed doors” seemed an understatement for this court case.
The trial for Alexei Navalny took place in the maximum security facility where he is now detained; the press and general public were not permitted to attend.
We packed into a tiny space known as the “press center” with other journalists to watch events on a television screen. The temporary courthouse (a prison hall), where the decision would be made, was closed to the public.
Alexei Navalny seemed at ease as he entered the courtroom and sat down at a table. For him, there was no drama in this circumstance because Russia’s most well-known opposition figure had made it obvious in a message posted for him on social media yesterday that he had fully anticipated receiving a “Stalinist” sentence.
The video screen displayed a picture. However, the audio stream from the courtroom was erratic and of poor quality.
The length of the new prison sentence wasn’t immediately apparent to the journalists watching and listening when the court found Mr. Navalny guilty and handed down a punishment.
Later, in the social media message left for him, Mr. Navalny confirmed the number himself.
“19 years in a colony under a particular system. The number has no significance. I am aware that, like many political prisoners, I am serving a life sentence. My lifespan or the regime’s lifespan is used to quantify life.
Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said in a statement that the latest sentence “raises serious concerns about judicial harassment and instrumentalisation of the court system for political purposes in Russia.”
According to Mr. Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh, “Putin is trying to frighten as many Alexei supporters as he can” with his sentence.
“We have to put all of our efforts into trying to get rid of Putin, and this will mean that Alexei will be free,” she continued.
Mr. Navalny worked for more than ten years to expose the corruption at the center of Russian power. Tens of millions of people have watched his investigative videos online.
He was a charismatic campaigner who appeared to be the only opposition figure in Russia capable of organizing big crowds to participate in anti-government demonstrations.
He was nonetheless poisoned in Siberia in 2020 by a substance that Western laboratories later determined to be a nerve agent.
Later reports from the investigative website Bellingcat and the Russian news website The Insider implicated many FSB agents in the assault.
Despite being warned that he would be arrested, Mr. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after healing from the attack. As soon as he landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, he was detained.
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