Russia court sentences Putin-foe Navalny to 19 years

A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison Friday.

The new charges related to the activities of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates.

In 2021, authorities outlawed the foundation and the vast network of Navalny’s offices in Russian regions, calling them extremist organizations and exposing anyone involved to possible prosecution.

Navalny’s allies say the charges retroactively criminalize all the foundation’s activities since its creation in 2011.

The 47-year-old opposition leader is President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe and has exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests.

He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning.

He blamed that poisoning on the Kremlin, which denied involvement.

The authorities previously sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for parole violations and then to another nine years on charges of fraud and contempt of court.

It wasn’t immediately clear if he will serve the new sentence concurrently with those.

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