Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison under “strict rule.”
A Moscow court judge on Tuesday upheld the verdict in the first case against an anti-corruption activist.
Alexei Navalny appeared by video conference from the Pokrov Colony, 100 km from Moscow (Archives).
Keystone / EPA / Maxim Shipenkov
On Tuesday, the Russian judiciary upheld a nine-year prison sentence on the “strict rule” of rival Alexei Navalny. The glamorous anti-corruption activist was questioned for “fraud” and “contempt of court”.
“March 22 Lofordovo court ruling remains unchanged” and comes into effect “immediately”, a judge of the Moscow Municipal Court announced. In the first case, President Vladimir Putin’s opponent was already serving a sentence in a colony known as the “normal regime” and sentenced to nine years in prison under a “severe” regime in which detention conditions are severe.
“Do not be afraid”
Alexei Navalny appeared by video conference from Pokrov Colony, 100 km from Moscow, where he served his first sentence. He was imprisoned and listened to the verdict carefully and sluggishly.
When called to speak before the end of the proceedings, the opponent did not reduce his words, despite numerous calls for an order from the court. “I hate your court and your system,” he said, adding that the trial was “meaningless”.
“Of course I don’t want to be in the cell,” he said. “I want to see my children grow up. But I urge people not to be afraid. Fear is a crime against our future, ”he continued.
Oppression
Alexei Navalny was arrested in January 2021 on his return from Berlin, where he spent several months recovering from poisoning, for which he is responsible for Vladimir Putin. The latter flatly denied and no inquiry was opened.
The arrest marks the starting point for accelerating the widespread repression of all Kremlin opposition movements and the independent media in Russia. This has intensified since February 24 and Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a military offensive against Ukraine.
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