MOSCOW – Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said he would keep challenging Russia’s leadership during the opening of a new fraud trial that could extend his jail term by more than a decade.
Navalny appeared at the beginning of the hearing yesterday via video link wearing a prison uniform and flanked by guards at the makeshift court inside his penal colony, smiling and embracing his wife.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “troubled by dubious new charges” against Navalny and called for his release.
“Navalny and his associates are targeted for their work to shine a light on official corruption,” Blinken tweeted.
“This time, he goes to trial in a penal colony, out of public view. Russian authorities should release Navalny and end their harassment and prosecution of his supporters.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said the new case was “incompatible” with the rule of law, speaking during a press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The 45-year-old opposition leader has already been behind bars for a year, after surviving a poison attack he and Washington blame on the Kremlin.
He is serving out a two-and-a-half year sentence on old embezzlement charges, but the fresh charges could see his time behind bars significantly extended.
“You’re going to increase my term indefinitely. What can we do about it?” Navalny said during the court hearing.
“The activities of people are more important than the fate of one individual. I’m not afraid.”
The new case was launched in December 2020, when Navalny was recovering in Germany after he was attacked with Soviet-designed poison. The Russian authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement. – AFP, February 16, 2022
