In a move that further exacerbates tensions between the Russian government and the opposition, imprisoned activist Alexey Navalny has been handed a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges. The verdict, delivered on Friday, marked Navalny’s fifth criminal conviction and is the longest sentence of the three he has received. The prosecution had sought a 20-year sentence, and Navalny himself had anticipated a lengthy, “Stalinist” term.
Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, appeared before the judge wearing his prison uniform and maintained a defiant stance, dismissing the charges as an attempt to silence his opposition. He is currently serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court in a penal colony near Moscow and was additionally sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in 2021 for a parole violation. The latest trial took place behind closed doors in the same colony.
The court, located at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 235km (145 miles) east of Moscow, accused Navalny of six separate criminal charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation. In response to the sentence, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, condemned the decision as “a sinister act of political vengeance” and a warning to state critics throughout Russia. Struthers pointed out that the oppressive actions against Russian civil society have escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also decried the ruling, calling Russia’s justice system arbitrary and emphasising that Putin fears standing up against corruption, war, and democracy. Navalny, known as Putin’s fiercest adversary, has exposed official corruption and organised large anti-Kremlin protests. His arrest in January 2021 followed his return to Moscow from Germany, where he had recovered from nerve agent poisoning that he attributed to the Kremlin.
The latest charges revolved around Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and statements made by his top associates. Critics argue that these charges retroactively criminalise the foundation’s activities since its establishment in 2011. Navalny has consistently rejected the allegations as politically motivated, accusing the Kremlin of aiming to keep him imprisoned for life.
During his closing statements in the trial last month, Navalny also condemned Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, describing the country as floundering in a pool of “mud or blood” with a broken and impoverished population, and thousands of lives lost in a senseless conflict.
