The Russian prosecution requested thirteen years in prison once morest the opponent Alexeï Navalny, Tuesday March 15. Sworn enemy of the Kremlin and victim of the exacerbated repression of the critical voices of President Vladimir Putin at work in Russia, the 45-year-old anti-corruption activist has been on trial since mid-February within the very walls of his penal colony, 100 kilometers away. east of Moscow, on charges of fraud and insulting a magistrate which he considers fictitious.
It is from this improvised court behind bars that the prosecutor Nadezhda Tikhonova requested a new heavy sentence once morest the opponent. “I request that a sentence of deprivation of liberty of thirteen years be imposed”, pronounced the prosecutor, quoted by the Russian press agencies. She also demanded a sanction “two years of restriction of freedom” and a fine of 1.2 million rubles (9,500 euros at the current rate).
In prison “until he or Vladimir Putin dies”
One of the opponent’s exiled lieutenants, Leonid Volkov, reacted immediately by saying that this indictment shows that the opponent will remain in prison “until Vladimir Putin or Navalny dies”.
“He is an absolutely innocent man who is on trial, because he tells the truth regarding Putin’s criminal regime”, added Lioubov Sobol, another ally in exile of Mr. Navalny, on Twitter. Investigators accuse the opponent of embezzling millions of rubles in donations to his anti-corruption organizations and of contempt of court during one of his previous hearings.
In 2020, Alexei Navalny, renowned for his viral investigations exposing the negligence and corruption of Russian elites, spent several months recovering in Germany following narrowly surviving poisoning by a nerve agent, for which he holds Vladimir Putin responsible. .
He was arrested in January 2021 upon his return to his country and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for an old fraud case dating from 2014. A conviction that caused an outcry in the West and sanctions once morest Moscow.
Call to protest for peace
In June 2021, Navalny’s main organizations have been labeled as “extremist”, a decision that led to their closure and the prosecution of many of their activists. Many of them are now in exile. In the process, the Russian authorities increased their pressure once morest a string of opposition media and NGOs critical of power.
Very recently, Alexei Navalny spoke out once morest the Russian army’s offensive in Ukraine and called on his supporters to demonstrate for peace despite the risk of arrest and serious legal proceedings. Nearly 15,000 peaceful protesters have since been arrested during actions across Russia, according to the specialized NGO OVD-Info.
Since the start of the offensive in Ukraine, the Russian government has tightened the screws even more, by passing two laws punishing heavy prison sentences for any denunciation of the conflict. On the Internet, one of the last spaces for free expression in Russia, the authorities are also continuing their efforts and have blocked social networks Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, as well as several Russian-speaking independent media.
