A Russian judge on Tuesday declared Alexei Navalni guilty of “fraud” and “contempt”, paving the way to extend the prison sentence already being served by the main opponent of President Vladimir Putin.
The prosecution had requested last week that the sentence of two and a half years of detention, which Navalni has been serving for just over a year, be increased to 13 years in prison.
The charismatic anti-corruption activist and former lawyer, 45, has been on trial since February in an improvised court inside the prison colony where he is serving his sentence, 100 km east of Moscow.
On Tuesday, he appeared at the hearing dressed in a prisoner's uniform, with his face emaciated, and heard the verdict with his hands in his pockets, laughter and discussions with his lawyers, said an AFP journalist at the scene.
As expected, Judge Margarita Kotova found him guilty from the beginning of the reading of the sentence, which could last several hours until the final announcement of the sentence.
“Navalni committed fraud, the theft of other people's property by an organized group,” said Kotova, who later added that she also “showed her disrespect in court, insulting a judge.”
After the verdict, Navalni could be transferred, at the request of the prosecution, to a prison of the so-called “strict regime”, further away from Moscow and where conditions are much tougher.
A hundred journalists watch the video broadcast of the audience in a press room set up in the prison colony.
The opponent was accompanied only by his two lawyers, in the midst of the wave of intimidation of voices critical of the Kremlin in the context of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
- Repression -
In the case being tried this Tuesday, investigators accuse Navalni of embezzling millions of rubles in donations to his anti-corruption organizations and of “contempt” during a previous trial.
Navalni considers these charges to be fictitious and that they were ordered by the Kremlin to keep him in prison for as long as possible.
The activist, known for his investigations into corruption and the lifestyle of Russian elites, has been the target of repression by the authorities for more than two years.
In August 2020, he fell seriously ill in Siberia, the victim of poisoning with a nerve agent, ordered according to him by the Russian president himself.
The Kremlin denies this, but the Russian authorities have never investigated this alleged assassination attempt.
Upon his return to Russia, in January 2021, after five months of convalescence, he was arrested and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a 2014 case of “fraud” involving the French company Yves Rocher.
In June 2021, their organizations, which had been campaigning throughout Russia for years, were branded as “extremists” and banned, leading many activists to go into exile to avoid prosecution.
Others have been arrested and face heavy prison terms.
Even from his prison colony, Navalni continues to send messages against Putin's government.
Since the offensive in Ukraine, it has spoken out against the fighting and has continued to call anti-conflict demonstrations despite the risks involved.
To suppress any criticism of the Russian army, the authorities have further strengthened their legal arsenal, with heavy prison sentences.
Despite this, more than 15,000 people have been temporarily detained in Russia in almost a month for demonstrating against the offensive, according to specialized oenegé OVD-Info.
In parallel, the government has tightened its control over information about the conflict, blocking access to dozens of local and foreign media outlets in Russia.
On Monday, Russian justice banned Instagram and Facebook, accused, like Navalni, of “extremism”. Twitter and TikTok were already blocked in Russia.
bur/pc/mis