Russia demands 13 years in prison for Putin’s top critic Alexei Navalny

Russia: Alexey Navalny’s corruption charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. (file)

Moscow:

Russian prosecutors on Tuesday called for Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to serve 13 years in prison on new fraud charges.

Navalny, the most outspoken domestic critic of President Vladimir Putin, was jailed last year after a poison attack on the Kremlin.

Russian news agencies quoted prosecutor Nadezhda Tikhonova as saying: “I request that Navalny be sentenced to 13 years, followed by two years of probation.”

The prosecutor also requested “two years of restricted liberty” for Navalny and asked him to pay a fine of 1.2 million rubles ($10,600 or 9,700 euros).

In a trial held inside a prison colony outside Moscow, where Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence, Navalny is facing embezzlement and contempt of court charges.

It was not immediately clear whether he is currently serving a 13-year sentence.

His corruption charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years, while contempt of court can carry a sentence of up to six months.

A prominent Navalny ally and former head of his regional offices, Leonid Volkov, said Russia is seeking to jail Navalny for life.

“He was sentenced to life imprisonment from the very beginning. As long as Putin is in the Kremlin,” Volkov said on Twitter.

Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yermish said her sentence depends on how long Putin has been in power.

call to protest

“Then we will do everything so that he does not remain in power for a long time,” said Yarmish.

Investigators accused Navalny of stealing several million dollars of personal use donations that were given to his political organizations.

Before being imprisoned, Navalny was Russia’s main opposition leader and his team often published investigations into the wealth of Russia’s elite, which were viewed millions of times on YouTube.

Navalny’s poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent in 2020 and his arrest on his return from rehabilitation in Germany last year has sparked widespread condemnation abroad as well as sanctions from western capitals.

Following his arrest, Navalny’s political organizations across the country were declared “extremist” and closed, while several prominent aides fled Russia for fear of prosecution.

Russia has increased its pressure on independent media and NGOs, along with several declared foreign agents, or closed for fear of prosecution.

A string of closures followed after Russia passed a new law punishing up to 15 years in prison for “fake news” about its military operation in Ukraine.

In an effort to further control information available to domestic audiences about the Ukraine conflict, Russia this month restricted access to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and blocked the websites of several independent news outlets.

On Instagram, Navalny has condemned Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and called on his supporters to protest despite the high prospect of fines and arrest.

According to the independent monitor OVD-Info, over the past two weeks, about 15,000 people have been detained in demonstrations in Ukraine across Russia.

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