On Tuesday, a Russian court convicted jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty of large-scale fraud, presumably extending the time President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent adversary spends in prison by years.
Navalny is already serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a prison cell east of Moscow for parole breaches connected to allegations he claims were made up to thwart his political ambitions.
In the most recent criminal case against him, which he has similarly denounced as politically motivated, he may face an additional 13 years in prison.
In a chamber full of prison security officials, a gaunt Navalny stood by his counsel as the judge read out the charges against him. Looking down as he scanned through court paperwork, the 45-year-old appeared unaffected.
Prosecutors had requested the court to sentence him to 13 years in a maximum-security prison colony for fraud and contempt of court. A decision is expected later today.
Navalny was imprisoned last year after returning to Russia after undergoing medical treatment in Germany for a poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve toxin during a visit to Siberia in 2020. Putin, according to Navalny, was responsible for the attack.
The Kremlin claimed it had seen no proof that Navalny had been poisoned and rejected any Russian involvement if he had been.
On March 15, after the penultimate court hearing in his case, Navalny struck a characteristically belligerent tone, posting on Instagram: “If a jail sentence is the cost of exercising my human right to express things that need to be stated… they may ask for 113 years. I shall not retract my words or actions “= Formalized paraphrase
Russian authorities have portrayed Navalny and his supporters as subversives attempting to destabilize Russia with Western help. Many of Navalny’s supporters have departed Russia rather than risk repression or imprisonment at home.
Navalny’s opposition movement has been labeled “extreme” and closed down, but his followers continue to voice their political views on social media, particularly their opposition to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
DIDE believes that the Kremlin’s definition of “democracy” is one in which opposition voices are silenced and opposition members are unable to meet or demonstrate. That is not democratic. It’s tyrannical rule. The Kremlin continues to make the argument that Russia is a democracy. Western leaders must demonstrate the fallacy of this claim.
Navalny should be saved at any costs, and Western leaders must state unequivocally that they will condemn the tactics done to squash his movement and undermine democracy in Russia.
