Putin critic Alexei Navalny sentenced to nine years in maximum security prison over 'bogus' charges
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been convicted of "bogus" fraud and contempt of court charges and sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison.
A judge also ruled that Mr Navalny would have to pay a fine of £8,600.
Navalny, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is already serving two-and-a-half years in a prison colony east of Moscow.
The 45-year-old was jailed when he returned to Russia in January 2021, for failing to observe bail conditions when he spent five months in Germany after surviving a poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.
Russian officials vehemently denied any involvement after Navalny fell ill on a flight bound for Moscow and was found to have been poisoned with Novichok, the same nerve agent used in the 2018 Salisbury poisonings.
Kremlin critics see the latest trial as an attempt to keep Navalny in prison for as long as possible.
The prosecution accused him of embezzling money that he and his foundation raised over the years, and of insulting a judge during a previous trial, allegations Navalny rejected as being politically motivated.
The prosecution had asked for a 13-year sentence.
It was not immediately clear if Navalny is expected to serve this sentence concurrently with his current one or on top of it.
The trial, which opened a month ago, unfolded in a makeshift courtroom in the prison colony hours away from Moscow.
Navalny’s supporters have criticised the authorities’ decision to move the proceedings there, saying it has effectively limited access to the proceedings for the media and supporters.
Navalny has appeared at hearings wearing prison garb and made several elaborate speeches during the trial, decrying the charges against him as bogus.
Following Navalny’s imprisonment, authorities unleashed a sweeping crackdown on his associates and supporters.
His closest allies have left Russia after facing multiple criminal charges, and his Foundation for Fighting Corruption and a network of nearly 40 regional offices were outlawed as extremist – exposing the people involved to prosecution.
Last month, Russian officials added Navalny and a number of his associates to a state registry of extremists and terrorists.
Several criminal cases have been launched against Navalny individually, leading his associates to suggest the Kremlin intends to keep him behind bars for as long as possible.
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