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MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Friday sentenced an ally of imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny to nine and a half years in prison for leading an “extremist organization”, her legal team said.
Ksenia Fadeïeva was elected in 2020 to the municipal council of the Siberian city of Tomsk, a rare success for the Russian opposition at the time. She also led Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption team in the surrounding region.
In 2021, Russian authorities labeled Alexei Navalny’s team “extremist”, effectively banning him and imposing heavy sanctions on those involved in his previous legal activities.
Ksenia Fadeyeva had been banned from using the internet since December 2021 and had been under house arrest since October.
A support group said on Telegram messaging that she would appeal the conviction.
Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most famous opponent, is serving a combined 30 years in prison for a series of charges he says were fabricated to silence him.
This month, Alexei Navalny was transferred to a penal colony in the Arctic, in northern Russia. According to one of his lawyers, the Russian authorities want to isolate Alexei Navalny before the presidential election in March.
His supporters, many of whom have fled abroad in recent years, tout 47-year-old Alexei Navalny as Russia’s future leader, although it is unclear how much popular support he has.
(Reporting Felix Light, French version Lina Golovnya, editing by Kate Entringer)
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