Extract from ABC News
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has had an extra 19 years added to his jail term in a criminal case which he and his supporters said was trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer.
Key points:
- Alexei Navalny is already serving sentences totalling nearly 12 years on fraud and other charges
- On Friday he was found guilty on new charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity
- Navalny had said the purpose of giving him extra jail time was to frighten Russians
A court at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 235km east of Moscow, tried Navalny on six separate criminal charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation.
They relate to his anti-corruption foundation and statements by top associates.
The 47-year-old, who is President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic, is already serving 11-and-a-half years in prison on fraud and other charges he said were bogus.
This marks the fifth criminal conviction and the third and longest prison term handed to Navalny, all of which his supporters see as a strategy to silence him.
Russian state news agencies reported that he would serve this new term concurrently.
Navalny appeared in the courtroom wearing prison garb and looking gaunt, but with a defiant smile on his face.
As the judge read out the verdict, the politician stood alongside his lawyers and his co-defendant with his arms crossed, listening with a serious expression on his face.
It took the judge less than 10 minutes to announce the verdict and the sentence — something that in Russia usually takes hours and even days.
The hearing was broadcast to reporters in a separate room, but the judge's speech was barely audible.
Navalny's team said the judge added 19 years to his sentences as a result of the new charges, despite State prosecutors requesting 20 years in a penal colony.
Meanwhile, television technician Daniel Kholodny was found guilty, alongside Navalny, of organising an extremist group, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
In a statement, Navalny described the 25-year-old as an "inspiration" and said he had declined many offers of freedom in exchange for testifying against others.
"Kholodny is bright, cheerful, doesn't lose his presence of mind," he said.
"And the main thing is he understands why this trial was invented but he doesn't let it intimidate him or break his will. Be like him."
Navalny rallies supporters
Navalny said that "the number doesn't matter" in a short statement after the hearing.
"As many political prisoners, I'm serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime," he said.
He urged his supporters "not to lose the will to resist" in the wake of his sentence and to "resist the villains and thieves in the Kremlin".
In an earlier social media post, Navalny predicted he would get a long jail term, but had said it was inconsequential because he had been threatened with separate terrorism charges that could add another decade in prison.
The charges relate to his role in his now defunct movement inside Russia that was accused of trying to destabilise the socio-political situation and create a revolution.
His political movement had been outlawed and declared "extremist".
West condemns Russia
The US State Department called the verdict "an unjust conclusion to an unjust trial".
The European Union condemned what it labelled another politically motivated ruling and called for Navalny's immediate release.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said the sentence raised serious concerns about judicial harassment and using courts for political purposes in Russia.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the sentence "sheer injustice".
A small group of Navalny supporters had gathered outside the penal colony but were not let in to hear the verdict.
Navalny was ordered to serve the new prison term in a "special regime" penal colony, with the highest level of security and the harshest inmate restrictions.
It wasn't clear when he would be transferred to from the Melekhovo prison.
Only men given life sentences or "especially dangerous recidivists" are sent to such prisons.
Navalny has 10 days to appeal the verdict. If he does, it will not take effect until the appeal is adjudicated.
Reuters/AP
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