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Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader handed further 19 year jail term

04 August 2023 18:33 (UTC +04:00)

The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed a further 19 year jail term, at a trial in a remote penal colony, APA reports citing BBC.

Navalny was found guilty of founding and funding an extremist organisation and activities. He denies the charges.

He is already serving a nine-year term for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court. The charges are widely viewed as politically motivated.

Since his jailing in 2021, Navalny has been held at a remote penal colony.

A hall in the prison, Penal Colony No 6 in Melekhovo, which is 240km (150 miles) east of Moscow, was turned into a makeshift courtroom for the Kremlin's most vocal critic. The proceedings were held behind closed doors.

Russian state prosecutors had called for a 20-year prison sentence for Navalny in an even more restrictive "special regime colony". Such prisons are normally reserved for Russia's most dangerous criminals.

Navalny could yet face further charges. He says that investigators have told him to expect another trial on terrorism charges.