New process begins
Navalny faces another 30 years in prison
06/19/2023, 3:48 p.m
Alexej Navalny has already been sentenced to eleven and a half years in a prison camp. Now the Kremlin critic is being tried again for “extremism”. If convicted, he faces several decades of additional imprisonment.
The already imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny is again before a Russian court. He defended himself in a new trial in which he faces several decades of additional imprisonment. The hearing took place in a penal camp in Melekhovo, about 235 kilometers east of Moscow, where the 47-year-old is being held. This time he is accused of, among other things, inciting and financing extremism and founding an extremist organization.
It is not yet clear to what actions the charges relate specifically. Journalists were not allowed in the courtroom. However, they were able to follow the proceedings via video transmission from a nearby room, although the audio was barely intelligible. Navalny rose and spoke for about three minutes. He questioned the jurisdiction of the judge, who belongs to a Moscow court but is trying him in a penal colony far from the capital. Navalny also demanded that his parents be allowed into the courtroom.
They came to Melekhovo assuming that the hearing would be public. Shortly thereafter, the court adjourned for a recess. The Kremlin declined to comment. “We are not following this process,” said Presidential Office spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Navalny has been behind bars for more than two years. The prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin has already been sentenced to eleven and a half years in a penal colony. He dismisses the allegations as fabricated in order to silence him.
Human rights groups and Western governments consider Navalny a political prisoner. The leadership in Moscow denies this. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after his return to Russia. In August 2020 he collapsed on a flight within Russia. First he was treated in Russia, then transferred to the Berlin Charité. There, poisoning with a nerve agent was determined. The government in Moscow has denied allegations that Russian authorities tried to kill him.