An ally of imprisoned Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, accused of having “created an extremist organization”, was sentenced Friday to 9 years in prison in Tomsk in Siberia, her supporters announced, in a context of unprecedented repression in Russia . The Sovetsky court in Tomsk “inflicted 9 years in prison on Ksenia Fadeyeva”, a former municipal deputy, her supporters indicated on Telegram, assuring that her defense “will of course appeal this decision”.
Accused of having “created an extremist organization” and “participation in an organization violating citizens’ rights”, Ksenia Fadeïeva, 31, whose trial opened in August, had led Alexeï Navalny’s team in the city of Tomsk.
In 2021, Alexeï Navalny’s campaign teams declared “extremists”
Alexeï Navalny was poisoned in Tomsk in 2020 during a pre-election support visit to his local collaborators. Seriously ill, he was then transferred for treatment to Germany then arrested and sentenced to prison on his return to Russia. Ksenia Fadeyeva was elected to the Tomsk city council in 2020 with other independent activists in Siberia, a rare success for the Russian opposition at the time.
In 2021, Alexeï Navalny’s campaign teams were declared “extremist” by the authorities, exposing the opponent’s supporters and collaborators to the risk of criminal prosecution. Although many of them left Russia, Ksenia Fadeïeva refused to go into exile and was arrested in December 2021 for organizing an “extremist” group.
In June, the head of the opponent’s headquarters in the city of Ufa, in central Russia, was already sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for “extremism”. Lilia Tchanycheva, an accountant, was the first collaborator of Alexeï Navalny to be tried for creating an “extremist organization”.
Nearly 20,000 Russians arrested since the start of the conflict in Ukraine
She left her job to join Alexeï Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) in 2017, actively participating in the protest movement against corruption in her region.
According to the specialized NGO OVD-Info, nearly 20,000 Russians have been arrested since the start of the conflict in Ukraine for protesting against Kremlin policies. Almost all major opponents are behind bars, such as Vladimir Kara-Mourza and Ilia Yashin, or in exile abroad.