Jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny handed 19 more years in prison

Kremlin absorption person Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 19 much years successful situation aft being recovered blameworthy successful a Russian tribunal connected a bid of charges, his squad confirmed connected Friday.

Navalny faced charges of inciting and financing "extremist activity" and "rehabilitating Nazi ideology," charges helium and his supporters reject.

In a societal media station connected Thursday, Navalny said that helium expected to person a "Stalinist" situation term. He has besides condemned Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, calling it "the astir anserine and senseless warfare of the 21st century."

Navalny, 1 of Russian President Vladimir Putin's astir vocal critics, was already serving 2 situation sentences. A nine-year situation condemnation connected charges of embezzlement and fraud and more than 2 years for parole violation.

Friday's condemnation marks Navalny's 3rd and longest situation term.

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called for Navalny's contiguous merchandise and slammed the "vague and overly wide charges."

"The caller condemnation imposed contiguous connected absorption fig Alexei Navalny raises renewed superior concerns astir judicial harassment and instrumentalization of the tribunal strategy for governmental purposes successful Russia," Turk wrote successful a statement.

Navalny has been held successful a distant penal colony since 2021. His detention came aft spending astir fractional a twelvemonth successful Germany recovering from a nervus cause poisoning successful August 2020.  

A period aft his poisoning, the German authorities said that the Russian dissident was exposed to a chemic nervus agent, adding the toxicology study provided "unequivocal evidence." The nervus cause was successful the household of Novichok, which was developed by the Soviet Union. Toxicology tests conducted successful France and Sweden besides came to the aforesaid conclusion.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied having a relation successful Navalny's poisoning.

In March 2021, the United States sanctioned 7 members of the Russian government for the alleged poisoning and consequent detention of Navalny. At the time, the sanctions were the archetypal to people Moscow nether President Joe Biden's administration.