POKROV – A Russian court today found jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty of embezzlement charges that could see his prison sentence significantly extended as Moscow seeks to wipe out remaining pockets of dissent.
“Navalny committed fraud – the theft of property by an organised group,” judge Margarita Kotova said.
She also found him guilty on a less severe charge of contempt of court.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was jailed last year on old fraud charges after surviving a poison attack with Novichok nerve agent that he blames on the Kremlin.
The trial today concerned additional embezzlement and contempt of court charges and Navalny had been tried at the prison colony outside Moscow where he is already serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence.
Navalny appeared in the makeshift court wearing his black prison uniform, with journalists watching via a video link.
He listened closely as judge Kotova read out the verdict, sometimes smiling.
Investigators accused Navalny of stealing for personal use several million dollars’ worth of donations that were given to his political organisations.
The prosecutor last week called for Navalny’s sentence to be extended to 13 years and for him to be transferred to a “strict regime” penal colony, which would place him in harsher conditions.
Navalny denies the charges.
The corruption charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years, while contempt of court is punishable by up to six months.
The prosecutor also called for him to pay a fine of 1.2 million rubles (RM48,633). – Bernama, March 22, 2022
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