Russian court sentences jailed Kremlin critic Navalny to 9 more years on new charges

POKROV, Russia — A Russian court on Tuesday found jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty of multiple new charges and sentenced him to nine more years in a maximum security prison.

Navalny, 45, will serve a “sentence of nine years in a strict-regime penal colony,” Judge Margarita Kotova said at the trial held inside Navalny’s penal colony outside Moscow.

It was not immediately clear whether the nine years will be concurrent with the two-and-a-half-year sentence he is already serving.

The sentencing came after Navalny was convicted on both new embezzlement charges as well as contempt of court.

“Navalny committed fraud — the theft of property by an organized group,” Kotova said, according to an AFP reporter present at the trial.

“By insulting the judge, Navalny committed contempt of court,” Kotova added, minutes after declaring him guilty of embezzlement.

In a post on Instagram following his sentencing, Navalny wrote that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “afraid of the truth.”

“Putin is afraid of the truth, I have always said this,” Navalny wrote. “Fighting censorship, relaying the truth to the people of Russia always remained our priority.”

Following the sentencing, Russian police arrested two of Navalny’s lawyers. Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev were detained just outside Navalny’s prison in the town of Pokrov near Moscow as they spoke to reporters, an AFP reporter at the scene said. Navalny’s team confirmed the detentions.

Navalny, Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was jailed last year on old fraud charges after surviving a poison attack with Novichok nerve agent that he blames on the Kremlin.

Navalny appeared in the makeshift court wearing his black prison uniform, with journalists watching via a video link.

He listened closely as judge Kotova read out the verdict, sometimes smiling, an AFP reporter said.

Investigators accused Navalny of stealing for personal use several million dollars’ worth of donations that were given to his political organizations.

Navalny’s poisoning in 2020 with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, and arrest on his return from rehabilitation in Germany last year, sparked widespread condemnation abroad, as well as sanctions from Western capitals.

After his arrest, Navalny’s political organizations across the country were declared “extremist” and shut down, while many key aides fled Russia fearing prosecution.