Russian state prosecutors have called for a 20-year prison sentence for Navalny in an even more restrictive “special regime colony”. Such prisons are normally reserved for Russia’s most dangerous criminals.
Russian state prosecutors have called for a 20-year prison sentence for Navalny in an even more restrictive “special regime colony”. Such prisons are normally reserved for Russia’s most dangerous criminals.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Navalny, the Kremlin’s most vocal critic, is already serving a nine-year term there for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court: charges widely seen as politically motivated.
In a message posted on social media ahead of the verdict, which is due on Friday, Navalny expressed his belief that he would be handed “a big [prison] term”.
Over the years Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin has been busy removing all potential rivals to the president, clearing the Russian political landscape of likely challengers.
In recent years Navalny has been the only Russian opposition leader capable of organising anti-Putin protests on a national scale.
After he received urgent medical care in Germany, his decision to return to Russia in 2021 will have been viewed by those in power here as a direct challenge to the Kremlin.
In his more recent role of nationalist blogger, he had become increasingly critical of the Russian authorities’ handling of the war - and of President Putin himself.
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