Navalny sentenced to 19 years in prison

The Russian opposition figure was found guilty on charges of extremism

Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been sentenced to 19 years behind bars. The news on the court ruling was broken by Navalny’s team on Friday.

The opposition figure was found guilty on multiple extremism-related charges, including creating an extremist group, calling for extremist actions, financing such activities and luring minors into them, as well as rehabilitating Nazi ideology.

The extremism charges fetched Navalny a combined sentence of 19 years. The opposition figure is already incarcerated, serving a separate prison term after being convicted of fraud.

Navalny, who is 47, ended up in Russian custody in early 2021, when he was found in violation of terms of his suspended sentence over defrauding the Russian subsidiary of French cosmetics manufacturer Yves Rocher out of millions of rubles. At first suspended, the sentence was activated and he was sent to a penal colony for two years and eight months.

In early 2022, Navalny received a further nine years behind bars, found guilty of contempt of court and fraud. The charges were related to the activities of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), with the opposition figure accused of spending the donations raised by the non-profit for “personal needs” as well as to bankroll “extremist activities.”