19 More Years Added to Alexei Navalny's Prison Sentence; Strong Reactions from the U.S. and Europe

Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's opposition politician who is imprisoned, has had 19 more years added to his sentence. The new ruling pertains to a criminal case that Navalny and his supporters claim was issued to keep him in prison longer and away from politics. Navalny, the staunchest domestic critic of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, is currently serving an eleven-and-a-half-year sentence related to charges such as 'fraud,' which he claims are fabricated. Moscow has declared Navalny's political movement illegal and 'extremist.' A court in Melekhovo, about 235 kilometers east of Moscow, concluded Navalny's trial on six separate charges on Friday, including inciting and financing extremist activities and creating an extremist organization. The trial was held behind closed doors in a prison gymnasium, and the audio broadcast was so poor that it was virtually impossible to discern what Judge Andrei Suvorov was saying. Journalists were not allowed into the courtroom but could watch the trial from a special media room via closed-circuit television, although the image was cut off as soon as the verdict was announced. Navalny's legal team stated that the judge added 19 years to his current sentence, while the state prosecutor had requested a 20-year prison sentence. Unconfirmed reports from Russian media suggest that Navalny, now 47, will be 74 when he is released from prison in 2050. During the trial, Navalny sat beside his lawyers in dark prison attire, occasionally smiling while listening to the judge. This blogger, lawyer, and former investigator has positioned himself as a 'political martyr' who wants to show Russians that it is possible to resist Putin, albeit at great cost. Last month, Navalny stated, 'For a new, free, and wealthy country to be born, it must have parents. Those who want it, those who expect it, and those who are willing to sacrifice for its birth.' In a message posted on social media on Thursday, Navalny had predicted that he would be sentenced to a long prison term but said it did not matter; he is also facing separate terrorism charges that could add another decade to his sentence. Navalny stated that the purpose of the additional prison sentence was to intimidate Russians, but he urged them to think carefully about those he calls 'the Kremlin's villains and thieves' and how they can best resist. Moscow has accused Navalny of attempting to incite revolution by destabilizing the country's political and social situation. The European Union condemned the new politically motivated ruling and called for Navalny's immediate release. Volker Turk, the UN Human Rights Chief, stated that this ruling raises serious concerns about judicial harassment and the use of the system for political purposes in Russia. The U.S. State Department also condemned the new ruling in a statement. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the State Department, said, 'The United States condemns the additional conviction and 19-year prison sentence for Alexei Navalny, an opposition politician and anti-corruption activist, by a Russian court on baseless so-called extremism charges. This unjust conclusion comes from an unfair trial.' The statement further noted, 'The United States strongly condemns the continued detention of Navalny, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and over five hundred other political prisoners in Russia. We will continue to closely monitor their cases and advocate for the release of all those unjustly detained.' This report is based on a Reuters article.