A Russian court opened on Monday (19) a new trial against the already detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny. This time, he will be tried for the crime of “extremism”, and if he is convicted, he faces another 30 years in prison.
The press was allowed to follow the trial on television screens installed in another room, where, according to the “Mediazona” portal, the “sound is absolutely horrifying”.
Earlier, Navalny’s team wrote in Telegram that, “naturally, journalists do not have access (to the court)”.
Along with the opponent, in the dock is Daniel Jolodni, former technical director of Navalny’s YouTube channel, who could also be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
During his daily press conference, the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, was asked if the Kremlin is following the process against Navalny, to which he replied with a resounding “no”.
The trial is being held at Prison No. 6 in the Vladimir region, which is located east of Moscow, where Navalny has been held since June 2022.
The opposition leader’s parents also went to the penitentiary center to watch the proceedings without being allowed to enter the courtroom until now.
According to the “Mediazona” portal, Navalny is accused of “financing and instigating extremist actions” and “creating an organization”, in reference to the banned Fund to Combat Corruption (FBK), which “violated the rights of citizens”.
In addition, accusations were made of “involvement of minors in dangerous actions”, in reference to opposition demonstrations not authorized by the government.
Navalny criticized on his social networks the “criminal war” launched in Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of sending hundreds of thousands of Russians “to the slaughterhouse”.
In November 2022, the court rejected an appeal by Navalny’s lawyers and confirmed the eight-year prison sentence imposed on him for fraud and contempt.
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