Russian prosecutors demand 13 more years in prison for Alexei Navalny – POLITICO

Russian prosecutors asked a court on Tuesday to lock up Kremlin critic and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny for 13 more years, in Russian state media reported.

State prosecutors said they were seeking more prison time for fraud and contempt of court, and asked the court to fine 1.2 million rubles – about 10,000 euros – against Navalny, who has since resigned. has long been an outspoken opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pavel Chikov, a senior lawyer and head of human rights agency Agora, which has represented hundreds of Navalny’s supporters, said: “The request is horrific but predictable, but conceded. “so far, it [just] the prosecutor asked, not the court’s decision.”

Navalny was arrested on his return to Russia in January 2021 after receiving treatment in Germany following a suspected poisoning case sanctioned by the Kremlin. Russian authorities then slapped Navalny with a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for what they said was a violation of the amnesty.

Speaking before the interim court in the prison where Navalny is being held, located about 100 kilometers east of Moscow, state prosecutor Nadezhda Tikhonova accused the 45-year-old man embezzled funds “from an unspecified group of people” and insulted court officials during his trial last February. She claims Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation deceived Russians into donating to it by allegedly taking money to fund his own presidential nomination despite being barred from running due to a criminal record. .

According to with Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh, the state prosecutor also demanded that Navalny be placed in a maximum security facility – where Russian prisoners often share umbrellas with up to 50 others and have less than 2 square feet of space to themselves.

“The sentence of Alexei Navalny has long been known: life in prison,” speak Navalny Chief of Staff Leonid Volkov, reacting to the ruling on his Telegram channel. “Until the end of the life of either person – Navalny himself or Vladimir Putin’s.”

“Navalny won’t spend 13 years in prison – Putin will die much sooner,” he added.

In January, Russia added Navalny and some of his top aides to the country’s “terrorists and extremists”. Registration.