A Russian court on Tuesday (March 22, 2022) sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to nine years in prison for treason, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

Earlier in the day, Judge Margarita Kottova was quoted as saying by Interfax that Navalny had committed fraud and embezzlement.

One who lies and abuses faith. ” Nafalni admitted to being involved in all the details of the alleged fraud. He was formally indicted for court purposes. Silencing their customer by demanding their release.

Navalny, a fierce opponent of President Vladimir Putin and a father of two, is on trial this time for embezzling funds from the now-banned Anti-Corruption Foundation in Russia and insulting a judge at a previous trial. In a series of tweets after the verdict was announced, he vowed to continue his fight against the Kremlin, saying, “Putin is afraid of the truth. I have always said it. Our priority is to fight censorship and reveal the truth to the people of Russia.”

On her part, opposition spokeswoman Kira Yamish said the case was referred to Putin and the Moscow presidency, adding that “at first he (Putin) tried to assassinate Alexei, but when that failed, he decided to imprison him forever.”

Navalny was previously assassinated in August 2020 with a chemical called “Novichuk”, which he miraculously escaped, and was transferred to the German capital, Berlin, for treatment, where he was visited by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.

After recovering, Navalny returned to his country a year ago, where he was arrested at the Moscow airport on January 17, 2021, for allegedly violating the terms of a previous criminal case and was forced to report his whereabouts. Staying in Germany. Accordingly, a Russian court has decided to commute the sentence of imprisonment for treason to a prison in Pokrov, about 100 km east of Moscow.

WB / ZAB (Reuters, AFP)