Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny expects his prison sentence to be extended by nearly two decades on Friday, as he faces a criminal case widely believed to be fabricated in order to keep him behind bars and prevent his involvement in politics for an even longer period of time. Navalny, who is 47 and President Vladimir Putin’s strongest domestic critic, is already serving a total of 11 and a half years on fraudulent charges and other allegations that he claims are baseless. In addition, his political movement has been banned and labeled as “extremist”.
The state prosecutors have requested the court to impose an additional 20-year sentence on Navalny in a penal colony in relation to six different criminal charges, including incitement and financing of extremist activities, as well as the creation of an extremist organization.
In a social media message posted on Thursday, Navalny mentioned that the sentence could potentially be slightly reduced to around 18 years, but he emphasized that the specific duration is insignificant because he is also facing terrorism charges that could lead to another decade of imprisonment. “It’s going to be a long sentence. It can be called ‘Stalinist’,” stated Navalny, who has the ability to communicate through social media with the assistance of his supporters and lawyers.
Navalny believes that the purpose behind the lengthy sentence is to instill fear among Russians. However, he urges them not to allow this to happen and to deeply consider the best ways to resist what he refers to as the “villains and thieves in the Kremlin”.
The charges against Navalny are connected to his involvement in his now disbanded movement within Russia, which authorities claim had been attempting to incite a revolution by destabilizing the socio-political situation.
In a closing statement delivered last month behind closed doors at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, approximately 235 km (145 miles) east of Moscow where he is currently serving his sentence, Navalny explained his continued opposition to the Russian authorities. “For a new, free, and prosperous country to be born, it must have parents. People who desire it. People who anticipate it and who are willing to make sacrifices for its realization,” Navalny conveyed, according to a transcript provided by his aides.
Putin, who has been in power since 1999, is expected to run for another six-year term as president in 2024. Amidst Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which he describes as a “special military operation,” and its struggle against the West, Putin deems it crucial for the country to remain unified.
In February, Putin directed the FSB security service to intensify its efforts and stated the necessity “to detect and curb the illicit activities of those who seek to divide and weaken our society”.
Navalny, who managed to mobilize tens of thousands of individuals to take to the streets during the 2010s, was arrested in January 2021 upon his return to Moscow from Germany, where he had received treatment for what Western doctors determined was poisoning by a Soviet-era nerve agent.
The Kremlin, which once accused him of colluding with the CIA to undermine Russia, denies any involvement in the events that transpired and refutes allegations of persecution against Navalny. They portray him as an agent of disruption and assert that he has never posed a serious threat in terms of political competition.
The Kremlin maintains that his case is purely a legal matter for the courts. On the other hand, Navalny’s supporters view him as a Russian counterpart to Nelson Mandela, hopeful that one day he will be released from prison to lead the country.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Gareth Jones and Conor Humphries)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
