This Friday, the imprisoned Russian opposition politician, Alexei Navalnywas sentenced to 19 more years in prison after being found guilty on a series of new charges, his supporters claimed on social media. In a video of a court hearing in a penal colony east of Moscow, Navalny could be seen dressed in a black prison uniform and standing with his arms folded as he listened to the verdicts.
The audio feed from the courtroom was so poor that it was virtually impossible to make out what the judge was saying. Navalny, the most prominent opponent of the President Vladimir Putinis already serving a sentence of 11 and a half years in the penal colony for charges that include fraud and that, according to him, were fabricated to silence him.
On the eve of the verdict, he had predicted that he would receive a “Stalinist” sentence of about 18 more years. The battery of new charges related to alleged extremist activities by the 47-year-old politician. The judge ordered that the new sentence should also be served in a strict regime prison.
He head of foreign policy of the European Union, Joseph BorrellHe condemned the “politically motivated” verdict and called for Navalny’s immediate release. The conviction is “a flagrant judicial error,” said the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbockreported Reuters and Bloomberg.
The Russian lawyer and his supporters have continued to face relentless repression from the authorities since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Putin is “trying to intimidate millions” by imposing harsh sentences on opposition activists, Navalny wrote to his supporters. “When the sentence is announced, think about just one really important thought: what else can I personally do to resist?” he added.
