A new trial against the Kremlin opponent begins on Tuesday. He faces up to 30 years in prison. The indictment is extensive, Navalny asked for more time to review it. A court rejects that.
Even before the official start of a new trial against him, the already imprisoned opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny, suffered a defeat before Russia’s judiciary.
A court in the capital Moscow on Wednesday rejected a complaint by Navalny, who had asked for more time to review the very extensive indictment. According to the court, proceedings against Navalny for alleged “extremism” are to begin next Tuesday (June 6), for which he could face 30 years in prison in the worst case.
The 46-year-old, who is internationally considered a political prisoner, is currently sentenced to nine years in prison. He has already served more than two. According to his spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch, the new trial will not be held in court, but directly in the penal camp about 260 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
Seven charges against Navalny
In total, the Russian judiciary has formulated seven counts of charges against Navalny, including founding and financing an extremist organization and downplaying Nazism. The Kremlin opponent rejects this. Two years ago, the Moscow City Court, before which this trial is now to take place, already declared the anti-corruption fund (FBK) founded by Navalny to be extremist. The FBK has published a number of materials on corruption in Russia’s power apparatus up to President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny, who is considered Putin’s best-known opponent, was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok during a trip to Siberia in the summer of 2020. The opposition activist accuses the Russian domestic secret service FSB of being behind the poisoning. The Kremlin denies the allegations.
Most recently, Navalny’s team repeatedly drew attention to the inhumane conditions under which the politician is imprisoned. For example, he has been put in an isolation cell two by three meters almost continuously for months. International human rights activists also speak of torture.
Source: Stern
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