Russian opponent Navalni sentenced to nine years in prison for “strict regime”

EU reaction in paragraphs 8 and 9 ///Pokrov, Russia, 22 Mar 2022 (AFP) - A Russian judge on Tuesday sentenced Alexei Navalni to nine years of detention in a “strict regime” prison colony, intensifying pressure against the main opponent of the Kremlin, in the midst of the Russian offensive of Ukraine.In parallel, the Russian government is strengthening its legal arsenal to suppress any criticism of the government.The last example is the adoption on Tuesday of a law that provides for significant sanctions to punish “misleading information” about the actions of Russian institutions abroad.The opponent's nine-year sentence annuls and replaces the two and a half years that he was already and includes the year already fulfilled. The United States condemned this latest sentence, stating that it seeks to “silence” dissenting voices in Russia and “hide” the war in Ukraine.” The mock court ruling is the latest in a series of attempts to silence Navalni,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. The European Union (EU) also “strongly” condemned the new ruling and denounced a verdict with “political motivations”.” We reiterate our call to the Russian authorities for his immediate and unconditional release,” said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.Navalni, imprisoned in early 2021, was convicted this time of “fraud” and “contempt” of a magistrate, accusations he considers political.Except for an unlikely victory in the appeal, will have to serve his sentence in a prison colony of “strict regime”, isolated places with much harsher conditions than in the so-called “general” colonies, such as that of Pokrov, where he is currently incarcerated.It was in this prison camp, 100 km from Moscow, that the opponent was on trial since mid-February in an improvised room.” Putin is afraid of the truth, I have always said so. The fight against censorship, bringing the truth to the people of Russia, remains our priority,” Nalvani wrote on Twitter after his conviction. The 45-year-old anti-corruption activist appeared at the hearing on Tuesday in prisoner's clothing and his face emaciated, accompanied by his lawyers. After the verdict, the lawyers were briefly detained on their way out of prison, an AFP journalist found there. Their arrest came after police told them to leave the street where they were talking to the press. A hundred journalists were able to watch the video broadcast of the audience in a room set up in the prison colony. Only one supporter of the opponent came to demonstrate outside the prison. “Navalni is a hero (...) people stay at home, they are afraid,” said Leonid Banionis. - “Embezzlement” and “contempt” - In Tuesday's case, Navalni was accused of embezzling millions of rubles in donations to his anti-corruption organizations and of “contempt” of court during a previous trial. The opponent claims that these charges were orchestrated by the Kremlin to keep him in prison as long as possible. Known for his investigations into the corruption of the elites, Navalni has been subjected to severe repression by the authorities for more than two years. In August 2020, he fell seriously ill in Siberia, the victim of poisoning with a nerve agent, ordered according to him by the Russian president himself. The Kremlin denies this, but the Russian authorities have never investigated this alleged assassination attempt. Upon his return to Russia, in January 2021, after five months of convalescence, he was arrested and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a 2014 case of “fraud” involving the French company Yves Rocher. In June 2021, their organizations, which had been campaigning throughout Russia for years, were branded as “extremists” and banned, leading many activists to go into exile to avoid prosecution. Others have been arrested and face heavy prison terms. The repression in Russia has been accompanied by a ban on the latest media and NGOs critical of the Kremlin. In this regard, the Supreme Court of Russia rejected on Tuesday a request to suspend the dissolution of the oenegé Memorial, confirming its dismantling.From his prison colony, Navalni continues to transmit messages against Vladimir Putin and the offensive in Ukraine. It has also continued to call demonstrations against the conflict despite the risks entailed by it.bur/pc/mb/eg —