Alexei Navalny sentenced to additional 19 years in prison colony for extremism-related charges
Brady Knox
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 19 additional years in a prison colony for extremism-related charges.
Russian state media reported the sentence, which was announced by Judge Andrei Suvorov on Friday. The opposition leader was found guilty of creating and participating in an extremist community, financing extremist activities, organizing an extremist community, making public calls for extremist activity, and involving minors in dangerous activities, TASS reported. The former technical director of Navalny’s YouTube channel, Daniel Kholodny, was found guilty of similar charges and sentenced to eight years in a penal colony, though of a less severe variety than Navalny’s.
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Navalny’s sentence was just one year shy of what state prosecutors were seeking for the ailing dissident, whose case has become a cause celebre for advocates for political prisoners worldwide. He was first sentenced to under three years when first returning to Russia from Germany in January 2021, then he was sentenced to an additional nine years after protests in support of him.
United States authorities were quick to condemn Navalny’s increased sentence.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s conviction of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny on politically motivated charges,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted. “The Kremlin cannot silence the truth. Navalny should be released.”
https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1687496195885735946?s=20
Navalny was declared by the Russian court to be a “particularly dangerous recidivist,” so he was sentenced to a “special regime” prison colony. These types of colonies are the most severe in Russia; among them is the infamous Black Dolphin Prison in Sol-Iletsk, which has a reputation as one of the most restrictive prisons on Earth.
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In his closing statement on July 20, reported by Meduza, Navalny retained a hopeful outlook, comparing his situation to that of parents who have a child.
“In order for a new, free, rich country to be born, it has to have parents,” he said. “Those who want it. Those who expect it and are willing to make some sacrifices for its birth, knowing that it will be worth it. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to go to prison. It’s more of a lottery, and that ticket was drawn by me. But everyone has to make some kind of sacrifice, make some kind of effort.”