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Russia’s main opposition determine, Alexei Navalny, was sentenced to 9 extra years in jail on fees of fraud and contempt of court docket, in a case his supporters say was introduced towards him on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.
The contemporary sentence comes as Russian authorities search to place down any dissent towards Mr. Putin’s warfare towards Ukraine, which has stalled within the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance. Russian authorities have detained greater than 15,000 folks in antiwar rallies for the reason that invasion started on Feb. 24, in response to OVD-Information, an impartial group which displays detentions at protests. Additionally they handed a regulation earlier this month that imposes a penalty of as much as 15 years in jail on anybody who criticizes the Russian military or refers to its offensive as an invasion or a warfare.
Mr. Navalny, who has from behind bars referred to as on his supporters to protest the warfare, was already serving a jail sentence that started in February final 12 months, for violating parole referring to an earlier fraud conviction that he and his supporters say was additionally politically motivated.
A choose on Tuesday dominated that Mr. Navalny had stolen donations from the Anti-Corruption Basis, a nonprofit he based that labored to research official corruption in Russia earlier than it was banned as an “extremist” group final 12 months, in response to a video stream from a courtroom at his penal colony 85 miles east of Moscow. In accordance with prosecutors, Mr. Navalny stole about 350 million rubles, roughly $3.4 million, from the muse. The opposition politician denied the costs.
Russian safety forces detained Mr. Navalny on his return to Russia in January 2021, after he had spent 5 months recovering in Germany from a poisoning assault that German scientists mentioned used Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Mr. Navalny accuses Mr. Putin of ordering the assault, a declare the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. The Kremlin additionally denies concentrating on Mr. Navalny for his criticism of Mr. Putin.
“There is no such thing as a doubt that the choice to arrest Navalny was made by Putin personally,” Mr. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, mentioned from Vilnius, Lithuania, the place lots of his aides are actually based mostly. “At first he tried to kill Alexei, and when he failed, he determined to maintain him in jail without end.”
Mr. Navalny, 45, was additionally hit with a wonderful of 1.2 million rubles on Tuesday.
However Mr. Putin’s most outstanding critic, who appeared gaunt within the court docket inside his maximum-security jail, was usually defiant after the ruling.
“9 years. Properly, because the characters of my favourite TV collection ‘The Wire’ used to say: ‘You solely do two days. That’s the day you go in and the day you come out,’” his Twitter account, which is dealt with by his staff, posted in a reference to the favored HBO collection. Mr. Navalny typically relays messages for his social media accounts by means of his authorized staff.
Mr. Navalny additionally urged his supporters to proceed taking motion “towards the deceitful and thievish Putin’s regime. Any opposition to those warfare criminals.”
Antiwar rallies, which gathered hundreds of Russians throughout dozens of cities earlier this month, have dwindled in latest days, as many Russians go away the nation with sanctions starting to chunk and authorities mounting a strain marketing campaign.
Since Mr. Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, some two dozen impartial Russian media organizations have been compelled to close down or chosen to cease operations, whereas Fb, Twitter and Instagram have been blocked within the nation. Investigators final week launched the primary three legal circumstances towards Russians for criticizing the warfare.
State-backed polling reveals that round two-thirds of Russians again the marketing campaign. A survey by the impartial Levada Middle pollster earlier this month tracked with these outcomes. Consultants warning towards taking the indications of Mr. Putin’s help at face worth, however say that broadly Russians do help him.
Mr. Navalny’s trial, which began on Feb. 16, was overshadowed by tensions round Ukraine and the following invasion. All the hearings have been held at his jail, which Mr. Navalny’s supporters say was meant to maintain his case out of the highlight.
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